Timeless architecture with the aim of creatively filling spaces. That is the mission of Claerhout-Van Biervliet. Their list of references speaks for itself. Xaveer Claerhout first studied history and only then architecture. Barbara Claerhout says she has been obsessed with architecture since a young age. The duo are a couple. They both state they are driven by the artistic and innovative in all its forms. In the lighting industry, they had already introduced groundbreaking creations that also found their way overseas.
The award-winning Periscope House (see photo) is – and this is no exaggeration – a highly exceptional creation. Around the ‘Periscope House’, a construction of mirrors and planters moves, which is raised by solar energy.
“The idea originated during the COVID-19 pandemic on one of the many walks in the region around Damme,” Xaveer Claerhout tells Projecto Magazine. “We wanted to create an ecological impact. Nowadays, building land is scarce and expensive. It was also important that the landscape remained maximally preserved. Hence the idea to utilize the advantages of the underground as much as possible (lower temperature, limited visual impact). This is how we brought sight and light into the building using the centuries-old periscope principle.”