Notary office
Notary office “Ter Waarde” marks the gateway and concluding point of the Ieper Business Park. The building is situated on an amorphous, elongated site adjacent to a roundabout, where the business park lies in front of a residential neighbourhood. A linear woodland zone forms a natural buffer between both environments, reinforcing the green character of the setting and providing a distinctive landscape context for the project.
The brief called for the development of a notary office accommodating four individual notary offices, four open-plan workspaces for sixteen employees, and five deed rooms with a combined capacity of sixty visitors. In addition, the building provides workspace for a permanent team of 23 staff members and was conceived as an efficient, future-oriented working environment where service, discretion, and accessibility are central.
The architectural concept is driven by the ambition to create a restrained, timeless, and legible architecture that integrates naturally into its green surroundings. Transparent glazing, dark aluminium frames, architectural concrete, and timber façade elements form a balanced and carefully considered material palette. Rather than seeking visual prominence, the architecture aims for a harmonious presence within the landscape.
Viewed from the adjacent roundabout, the building reveals a clear composition of volumes and strong horizontal lines. The focal point is positioned at the public entrance and takes shape as a double-height volume containing the reception area, waiting spaces, deed rooms, and supporting facilities. Above, a multifunctional space with staff amenities and a terrace is housed within a warm timber-clad volume that rises above the concrete base.
From this central core, two pronounced horizontal concrete planes extend across the site. On the south-western side, a generous canopy shelters a fully transparent office wing. The extensive use of glazing maintains visual connections to the green zone behind the building, allowing landscape and architecture to merge seamlessly. On the north-eastern side, the same horizontal gesture continues, though with a more enclosed character. Timber walls define technical spaces and a covered bicycle storage area, creating a carefully articulated transition between building and outdoor space.
The result is a continuous concrete plinth at ground level that stretches along the entire length of the site, interrupted only by the centrally positioned upper volume. This strong horizontal composition emphasizes the elongated nature of the plot while introducing a sense of calm and timelessness.
Landscape design plays an equally important role in the project. Newly planted trees reinforce the site's green identity, while the front zone has been conceived as a natural buffer with layered planting. This vegetation provides privacy for the deed rooms without compromising the openness of the architecture. The building settles within the landscape, allowing the natural context to become an integral part of its identity.
Through the careful alignment of programme, zoning, materiality, and volumetric composition, the project achieves an architecture that is both clear and understated. The combination of glass, dark aluminium, concrete, and timber establishes a balanced relationship between transparency, solidity, and warmth. Free from fences or hard boundaries, the building remains open to its surroundings and becomes a natural extension of the landscape in which it is embedded.
