Renovation

How can a 200-year-old Maisäß be remodeled into a hotel with a restaurant, suites and a wellness area? The “Am Holand” hotel complex can be seen from afar. Two buildings with a gable roof and a connecting building are located on a south-facing slope above the village. The western building – a wooden structure that is over 200 years old – the connecting building and the eastern structure have been renovated and expanded in three construction phases. Architecturally, the focus is on opening and expanding the rooms. This is to enhance the view and the connection to the wonderful landscape and to offer the guest a spacious, coherent spatial structure.

Along the Sint-Gillislaan in Dendermonde sits a plot with a remarkable history. In the nineteenth century, a stately townhouse is said to have been owned by the then mayor Beelaert (1755-1935) and acted as a residence of the British captain Alexander Cavailé Mercer during the Waterloo campaign. From the turn of the century onwards, the building was used as a meeting space and a café by a local theater group, which converted the spacious rear building with its cast-iron truss structure into a theater hall. Later, the building was converted into a home and the rear extension into a shop, most recently the garden and flower shop called ’t Groene Genoegen.

Albert and Ariadna have finally found the house of their dreams: a farmhouse to rehabilitate with their own hands to achieve the most efficient and healthy home possible.

Renovation of the Former Residence of Zhang Taiyan by Tsing-Tien Making. A spatial container of Chinese classics and memories about Suzhou. “Renovation is not simply about blending into the old. Instead, it involves the fusion of the old and the new to imbue this long-standing house with a new language, from design to functionality and the experience it offers to visitors. We hope the story of Zhang Taiyan and his house does not stop in that specific period but continues, with the new memory and language, to carry forward.” By Tsing-Tien Making. The enchanting city of Suzhou encapsulates the poetic beauty of the Southern Yangtze region. A stroll along the historic Jinfan Road in the city’s old neighborhoods reveals numerous quaint and elegant old residences. Once the heart of Suzhou, this area, adorned with gray bricks and flat tiles, embodies the profound cultural heritage and charm of a place steeped in the arts of calligraphy and painting. Among these treasures stands the Zhang Garden, located at No.38 Jinfan Road, a valuable cultural landmark in this neighborhood. Constructed in 1932, this residence belonged to an eminent scholar of Chinese nationalism named Zhang Taiyan. In his late years, Zhang housed his collection, engaged in writing, received guests, and lived in this residence. In 2023, Gu Wu Xuan Bookstore took over its operation and entrusted Tsing-Tien Making to renovate this century-old mansion into a bookstore and a museum based on the scholar’s former residence. In the same year, it officially opened to the public. The site comprises three mixed-style houses built during the Republican period (1911-1949), showcasing a harmonious blend of Chinese and Western architectural styles in the facades. The exterior features plain brick walls, Suzhou-style wooden lattice windows, Chinese-style pavilions, and Roman columns. The southern building, spanning nearly 600 square meters, is designated as the residence-based museum, while the two northern buildings, occupying approximately 880 square meters, constitute the main section of the bookstore.