The Peeters house in Deurne by Gaston Eysselinck: a Flemish ‘machine à habiter’

Abstract

Gaston Eysselinck (1907-1953), one of Belgium’s famous Modernists, built the Peeters-Ceurels house in the Antwerp region in 1932. The house became a listed monument in 1995. It shows some resemblances to Le Corbusier’s Maison Citrohan in the 1927 Weissenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart, with regard to the design, the construction of the facade and even the use of colour. This paper will examine the original materials and colour schemes used in the Peeters house as well as the process of restoration. In the archives one of Eysselinck's original design drawings for this house was rediscovered. It shows a peculiar colour pattern for the facades. On-site research revealed this original concept. The colour scheme developed by Eysselinck is inextricably linked to the international modern era. As pointed out in the projects of Le Corbusier, colour is prominent in the work of modern architects in general. Although Eysselinck’s unusual colour pattern deserves our attention, it was painted over and forgotten. Technical problems with the plaster and many transformations have severely damaged the monument. To revitalise the original colour scheme of this significant house, a choice between maximal preservation of the historical material and durable technology had to be made. The historical research, fieldwork, lab research and restoration test strips backed up the final restoration proposals. The results of this study contribute to the communication and appreciation of colour in modernism, a contribution in dealing with the white misunderstandings in our young architecture.