{"id":195205,"date":"2022-04-06T10:30:54","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T14:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=195205"},"modified":"2023-11-17T15:04:50","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T20:04:50","slug":"jonathan-haddad-renovates-an-equestrian-estate-in-retie-belgium","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/jonathan-haddad-renovates-an-equestrian-estate-in-retie-belgium\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan Haddad Renovates an Equestrian Estate in Retie, Belgium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"The
The newly landscaped private courtyard between the stable and the residence centers on an existing fountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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April 6, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Rebecca Dalzell<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Jan Li\u00e9gois<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Jonathan Haddad Renovates an Equestrian Estate in Retie, Belgium<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan Haddad, the cofounder and design director of creative studio Sceners, has an eclectic resume. Born in Paris and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, he has studied jazz, launched a clothing label, restored vintage furniture, and created sculptures out of found objects. But Haddad had no official training in interior design when a friend, Kai Zeevi, asked if he\u2019d be interested in renovating a family property near Antwerp, Belgium. Ever open to new experiences, Haddad admitted he lacked professional credentials but was confident he could pull it off. He had, after all, designed fashion shows and fixed up an old building for a pop-up gallery, and he knew how to make a 3-D model. Zeevi\u2019s family took a chance and offered Sceners the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a remarkable first commission. The multigenerational clan breeds horses and had recently bought a 40-acre equestrian facility, located in the town of Retie, with poorly maintained stables and living quarters. Zeevi, a champion show jumper, regularly trains there, and his family hoped to restore it and create comfortable accommodations for themselves. \u201cThe clients were looking for a chaletlike feel, a place where they could do these professional activities, but still feel at home and experience the daily stable life,\u201d Haddad says. He got a taste of it himself: The job required him to stay on-site for a year to manage the project, since the Zeevis live in Israel. It may be one reason why he got hired: \u201cThey knew I was young and that it would be an amazing opportunity for me,\u201d Haddad wagers. \u201cI could be this guy on-site doing everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The firm also landscaped the property and added pathways of Belgian bluestone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They also liked Haddad\u2019s aesthetic, which is informed by his Moroccan mother, Tunisian father, and their collection of tribal art and mid-century furniture. \u201cWe had a maximalist home that combined Senufo masks, Naga chairs, and a Serpentine sofa by Vladimir Kagan,\u201d he explains. \u201cHaving pieces from different periods and places creates a kind of harmony.\u201d His style resonated with Zeevi\u2019s family, who lived in Africa for a decade and appreciates its indigenous cultures. \u201cWe knew Jonathan\u2019s vision and trusted his point of view,\u201d Zeevi says. \u201cWe mostly gave him a free hand.\u201d Haddad\u2019s challenge was to pair sophisticated interiors with a working stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He began by researching similar complexes nearby but found most too conservative for his taste. But Cuadra San Crist\u00f3bal, a fabled equestrian estate in Mexico City that Luis Barrag\u00e1n completed in 1968, showed what a more abstract approach could look like. \u201cBarrag\u00e1n got me thinking outside the box,\u201d Haddad notes. While he wasn\u2019t going to create anything so colorful or modern, Barrag\u00e1n\u2019s stables made him consider how to heighten the connection with nature, such as landscaping the property and incorporating organic elements in the interiors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A custom chandelier made of local tree branches and a 19th-century Indonesian door repurposed as a mirror furnish the main entry to a stable and a private residence in Retie, Belgium, renovated by Sceners.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Surrounded by forest, the 43,000-square-foot compound comprises a mid 20th\u2013century brick stable and a 2012 building by Architectenbureau Kristel Caes that incorporates an indoor training arena and a two-story private residence. Haddad started with improvements like reinforcing and sanding the terra-cotta bricks, painting the roof, and installing window shutters and new stalls in the stable. Inside, he opened up the relationship between the horse facilities and living areas, replacing walls with windows; a dining room, for example, now looks directly into the arena. \u201cI created transparency so the sport didn\u2019t feel like a professional activity, but something desirable that anyone could do,\u201d Haddad says. (He himself learned how to ride during his stay.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haddad mined the stable for raw materials, bringing historic elements into the living quarters of the newer building. He turned a grinder once used for milling horse food into the base of a low table. Aluminum from a stable door became the legs of a coffee table. Another door, broken and whitewashed, hangs as abstract artwork in the living room. Other custom pieces are made with wood from the surroundings, such as a chandelier composed of branches that Haddad cut down, sanded, and fashioned into a sculptural pendant fixture. His firm Sceners not only designs these pieces but also fabricates them, and operates as a vintage furniture dealer, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The base of the entry\u2019s low table is made from an old horse-food grinder, also found in the stable.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While the home relates to its rural context, it\u2019s no rustic retreat. Haddad scoured secondhand stores and flea markets in the region to source an array of mid-century designer furnishings. In the upstairs sitting room, Marcel Breuer chairs face a chaise by Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand. An Ingo Maurer chandelier meets Shin and Tomoko Azumi sofas and Charles and Ray Eames chairs in the living room. Antique Asian stools, Naga chairs, and Senufo masks and sculptures populate other rooms throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Zeevi, the result creates a Zenlike feeling well suited to the quiet setting. \u201cIt calms me down,\u201d he says, \u201cand is unique and feels authentic. We took a bit of a risk on Jonathan at the beginning, but he did an unbelievable job.\u201d The family has even signed up Sceners to design an extension to the stable with four more bedrooms. It seems safe to bet that Haddad will have no shortage of ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"In
In the living room, a pair of vintage Shin and Tomoko Azumi sofas reupholstered in suede joins Charles and Ray Eames chairs, an Ingo Maurer chandelier, and wooden Senufo sculptures. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A custom bench of wood reclaimed from the stable stands in the foyer of the residence.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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An antique Asian rosewood stool and a fiber-concrete chair by Kristian Sofus Hansen and Tommy Hyldahl meet a 280-year-old Japanese azalea bonsai on other side of the foyer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A vintage Pierre Jeanneret bench and an antique Asian display cabinet outfit the primary bedroom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The indoor riding arena, completed in 2012 by Architectenbureau Kristel Caes, occupies the same structure as the living quarters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Discarded
Discarded lumber from the stable has been formed into an outdoor chair.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seating
Seating in the den includes custom live-edge oak chairs and a vintage Eames lounge chair and ottoman. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A new window wall in the dining room connects the residence with the arena; the 1980\u2019s aluminum and leather chairs are Italian. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The mid 20th\u2013century stable has 40 stalls with new aluminum and teak gates.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The stable\u2019s shutters, also teak, were recently added. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Naga
Naga chairs dating to the 19th century appear throughout the 43,000-square-foot interiors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The teak pedestal and MDF bookshelf in the upstairs sitting room are custom. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The indoor arena is 20,000 square feet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A vintage stone horse sculpture and 19th-century Senufo mask decorate the den. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Marcel
Marcel Breuer chairs, a Michel Ducaroy sofa, and a Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand chaise circle an Isamu Noguchi coffee table\u2014all vintage\u2014in the sitting room.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The newly landscaped private courtyard between the stable and the residence centers on an existing fountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
PROJECT TEAM<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Architectenbureau Kristel Caes<\/span><\/a>: architect of record<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Peter Structures BV<\/span><\/a>: general contractor<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
PRODUCT SOURCES<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
FROM FRONT<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Magazyn<\/span><\/a>: concrete pedestals (entry, foyer)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
101 Copenhagen<\/span><\/a>: concrete chair (foyer), vases (bedroom, dining room, sitting room), concrete side table (sitting room)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Through Pagoda<\/span><\/a>: black stools (foyer, dining room), cabinet (bedroom), shelf unit (stable)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Hitch Mylius<\/span><\/a>: sofas (living room)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Ingo Maurer<\/span><\/a>: chandelier<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
NV Gallery<\/span><\/a>: headboard (bedroom)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Mogg<\/span><\/a>: lamp<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Through Empire<\/span><\/a>: coffee table, metal pedestal, mask (den)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
through adc eindhoven<\/span><\/a>: vintage pendant fixtures (stable)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
through mass modern design<\/span><\/a>: armchairs (sitting room)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
THROUGHOUT<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Bato<\/span><\/a>: brick, stone, wood supplier<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
through loads 040<\/span><\/a>: vintage accessories<\/span><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n