The starting point for this house in Deurle, a suburban area of Gent, was to create a single-story building that maximized the potential for interaction between the garden and the house while fitting into the existing landscape of the site. The site stretches between a forested hill with tall pine and oak trees to the west and a residential neighborhood to the east. The house hugs the east side of the site to benefit as much as possible from the evening sun reaching over the trees. Living spaces within the house are divided into four main building blocks, which are then shifted off the horizontal axis to give the building a sculptural quality within its setting. This shifted layout allows the house to define several different outdoor areas, including an east-facing breakfast terrace with a kitchen garden and a dining terrace on the south side.
The pool area extends south from the main living areas of the house, creating a visual extension to the building. The garage is pulled away from the main building towards the road. It also provides the main entrance to the house through an integrated corridor. Between the garage and the main building is an entrance courtyard, defined and surrounded by a covered walkway. The exterior of the building is concrete in a brown tone chosen to create connections with the natural setting and the adjacent forest. Throughout the whole building, a terrazzo floor provides a rich surface quality and an air of simplicity to the space. The built-in furniture is part of the space and creates a calm and neutral environment for the owner’s art collection. The house’s simple, calm spaces allow the landscape to form a powerful and changing presence, viewed through tall windows that slide completely into the wall to create unobstructed openings into the garden.