Contact
menu
Contact
menu
Mathieu Luyens and Julie van De Keere established JUMA architects in Ghent, Belgium, in 2009. Working closely, they bring a unique shared perspective, describing their aesthetic as ‘modern and minimal with careful usage of light, space, emotion and the unique characteristics of each location.’
Both studied at Sint-Lucas Academy in Ghent, graduating in 2007, with Julie subsequently interning at Coninx Architects in Antwerp and Mathieu working first in Ibiza before taking up a post closer to home. They came together as a couple in their private and professional lives, setting up JUMA’s studio close to Ghent’s Sint-Baafs Cathedral. The office is small, with just two other architects, allowing the studio to specialise almost exclusively in building private houses for clients in Belgium. This scale enables the architects to focus on every single facet of a project, from initial client discussions through to the construction process, taking exceptional care with the detailed specification of fixtures, materials and even furniture. ‘This very specific approach allows us to be passionate designers and functional builders while also efficiently creating a cost effective and personal structure for our clients,’ they say.
Ultimately, we just want to make houses that are usable and practical. Not the kind of house that appears always ready for a photo shoot, where everything is unrealistically clean and tidy. I think our designs are very tight, by which I mean that there are not a lot of corners and complexity. But on the other hand, everything needs to be practical, so we don’t do things like design kitchen cabinet fronts that go all the way to the floor, because otherwise every time you opened a door it would hit your feet. The other approach might be more beautiful, but like I said, it has to be practical and usable as well.
When we start designing a house, we think of its immediate environment. What is the orientation of the plot, what are the surroundings, are there other houses with lights or view lines to avoid? A house is a self-contained environment. We want to ensure that when you enter a house, you have a distinct spatial experience. For example, in our own house, when you first enter you take a few steps down. This gives the entrance hall a greater feeling of height, as well as creating a different dynamic – it not all one flat concrete floor.
We believe each room should always trigger new sights and new experiences. In our own house, even though the entrance hall is comparatively small, historically speaking, it gives you a direct view through to the garden, which invites you to come and look. On either side of the route to the kitchen there are small courtyards, like winter gardens. As a result of all these viewpoints and angles, you get a different experience every time you move from one room to another. We want these different experiences, as they create a dynamic floorplan.
Absolutely. Actually, almost everyone says the same thing when they come to us: ‘I want a house with lots of light, lots of windows, lots of views.’ We say, sure, no problem. However, in Belgium we’re used to having the kitchen and living room orientated to the south. These days, it’s just not possible to put very large windows in a south façade, because unless you have sun screening the house will overheat. If you want to use a lot of glass, it’s no problem, but it’s better to put windows on the other orientations. A big window on the north side can give you light all day long without problems.
How do you go about creating an emotional connection with space?
We want to create houses that have warmth and are not too sterile. With materials, for example, we try and combine natural materials with synthetic ones. The main reason we use natural materials is because nature creates structure and texture, whereas synthetic materials have a cleaner surface. It’s a question of combining these textures to create the warmth. Secondly, although we design generous-sized houses, they are never too big. We don’t want to create palaces; an interior must accommodate human scale, rather than simply show off how large a house can be.
Our role is to remove the ‘stress of choice’ – there are simply too many options for materials, colours, furniture, whatever. For many clients we can choose everything, from the type of brick on the façade to the floor, to the wood for the cabinets. If they don’t want to visit showrooms, etc., they get everything on a plate. We prepare different palettes of stone, and finishes, and they just have to say yes or no. I would say we have two types of clients. Some of them are there every week on the construction site, wanting to look at every single detail. And then there are those who never come to the construction site and wait until the project is practically complete. It’s the same thing with choosing materials and specifications.
It’s also important to say that JUMA will never make the same house twice. Some people see a project they like on our website, and they come to us and want us to build it for them. We’re never going to do that. Perhaps this makes it more difficult for us, because we can’t just copy and paste things, from plans down to the materials. So if you’re asking if we have a ‘standard palette’, the answer is yes and no. It changes with every project.
We’re a very small office, just four of us, and I would say we turn down 95% of clients. We don’t want to grow – staying small is our decision – but it also means that we can’t take on too many projects at once. It also allows us to be very precise in what we choose to work on, which is a luxury. Most of our projects are within a maximum of one hour’s drive from Ghent. All these things are important, because as a couple with two children, we put a lot of attention on our work/life balance. Our office is almost next door to our house, so there’s no commute, for example.
It’s all about working efficiently. I’m a bit of an efficiency freak, in fact, we’re both control freaks – we still want to do every project ourselves. This has a big advantage for the clients because they get our full attention. We think they deserve this one-to-one experience and that’s not always the case with bigger offices.
Our division of labour is very strict. I do all the site visits, and Julie does all the paperwork for the licences, client meetings, specifications, etc. We have between five and seven projects at any one time, all at different stages. We used to have more but it was so difficult trying to handle all the details in your head.
Mainly because we like a lot of different styles. With clients, it’s easier to hold on to a single concept. That’s why in our house we have rooms that are different in terms of materials.
Of course, it’s also a good way to show our clients how things can be done, how materials can be combined. Otherwise, they tend to be a bit conservative and want to use the same wood throughout, for example. We don’t mind using three types of wood in the same space. Because our house was one of the first new buildings that we ever did, it was really a big step up for the studio. Before that, we’d been a bit stuck in renovation projects, so being able to start from nothing was a big change.
These are high-end projects, so expensive elements like heat pumps of geothermal heat pumps are easier to incorporate. Also, we always have solar panels, as well as thick insulation in the walls and the roof. The smaller the house, the easier it is to meet the guidelines, but with a long, glazed façade, it’s much harder. You’ll never reach Passive House Standard, for example.
I think the kitchen, first of all, because it is the heart of the house, certainly in Belgium. Everyone wants a space where you can cook and entertain, but is also very high-end and sleek, with all the latest devices. Those two things are hard to combine, for example when you have multiple ovens. You often see beautiful kitchens on social media using things like natural stone, but it’s not always the best solution for a heavily used kitchen, so it’s all about finding a balance.
Materials like natural stone have an inbuilt imperfection, if you like, which gives it a sense of longevity and time. We always try to design in a timeless way, but that’s not always possible when clients react to material trends on social media, etc., especially when you consider that a project takes around two years to finish. Tastes change. Right now, you see a lot of rounded cabinetry or stonework in products. I don’t know if the desire for this will last for ten years.
In terms of products, we always use VOLA, wherever we can. We think it has a timeless form, with products that are still better than much newer designs. There’s so much detail and thought that goes into the materials and the design, right down to the millimetre. It makes a real difference, and it’s the reason why VOLA is beautiful.
One of the first reasons we chose VOLA was because they made accessories in the same colours as their taps - I think they were among the first company to do this. The colours are beautiful as well. Anything you chose from their collection is going to be a good design, whether it’s a freestanding tap, or a wall-mounted one, or the classic rain shower or any kind of fixture. There’s a VOLA product that fits.
I think we feel confident in this area of private residential design. Perhaps the only thing that could happen is to design bigger houses, which would give us more opportunities with materials and structures and layout. That would be fantastic. Of course, it would be great to build a spectacular house by the Mediterranean, but practically speaking it’s rather difficult – we can’t just copy and paste our approach to the South of France. And that’s what we value most of all.
