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‘The client’s way of life is the true design’ TEXT: MICHIEL STOL | PHOTOS: SASS ARCHITECTS
“If you can draw the basic design with ten lines or less, then you know it is strong.” That is the philosophy of SASS Architects from Temse and its founder Sam van Mele. He and his young team of specialists all contribute to create the perfect and personal designs of their clients. SASS was created in 2015 and stands for Sam & ASSociates. “We all know each other from working together at the Luca School of Arts in Ghent. I believe in the power of collaboration and individual strengths. That is why I feel we are not a traditional architects bureau, but rather a hub for creative minds that work together to come up with the best ideas,” Sam explains.
Look at the lives of clients “To get the best understanding of what the design has to look like, we do not just ask about the wishes and ideas of our clients,” reveals Sam. “It is more of an interview, where we find out how our clients live, what their hobbies are and how they will use the house. We also meet our clients at home, to see for ourselves how they live. Is their lifestyle orderly or organ20 | Issue 50 | February 2018
ised more ‘loosely’? It is their way of life that makes the true design.” Based on that, the whole team start to brainstorm about the concept, both for the exterior design as well as the interior. “Our office is more of a den than an old fashioned office, with lots of impulses to stimulate creativity. Inspiration doesn’t come from behind a desk, it comes from impulses,” Sam smiles.
At one with the surroundings Lighting is always a big part of the designs by SASS Architects. “People aren’t made to live in confined spaces; we used to live in nature. Our designs try to bring as much of that nature indoors, using views, temperature and natural lighting. That makes a building much more spacious,”
Sam continues. “This way we can also incorporate sustainable solutions from the beginning, rather than to retrofit them afterwards at additional costs.” SASS Architects does not design just detached houses, they also design complete plots. “The terraced houses we design for this have to have flexibility for new owners to easily create their own home, even if the outsides look the same. It still has to fit with their way of life. “The goal of our designs is not just to make our clients happy, but to really get them settled in their new home in the shortest period of time.” Web: www.sass-architecten.be