Charles, who is currently working on houses in London and Lisbon, is a veteran of the Van Duysen and Vervoordt studios. The latter taught him ‘an appreciation for the spiritual and timeless qualities that define spaces and objects’. Equally formative, he says, was his understanding of ‘emptiness, silence and the space in between – the intangible realm where some of the most meaningful experiences emerge’. Classical and Renaissance architecture are other inspirations; nature, too – not just in terms of its forms, but also in the way it responds to its environment, ‘reminding us that architecture, too, should be rooted in context’.
The walls of V Residence are a mix of storm grey, chocolate and a luminous greige that would grace a Vermeer interior.
A temple-like calm pervades Charles’ latest project. V Residence is a restored early 20th-century house outside Ghent, its walls alternately storm grey, chocolate and a luminous greige that would grace a Vermeer interior. Its design revolves around a love of collecting. ‘Rather than approaching it as a series of individual rooms, I conceived it as a sequence of “ensembles” in which architecture, colour, furniture and artworks come together to create atmosphere and meaning,’ he says. ‘It balances comfort with intellectual and emotional richness. I am interested in designing spaces that offer a sense of refuge, contemplation and wonder.’
A bedroom in the home reflects an appreciation of timeless simplicity.