House of Cards, a timber coastal home in Koksijde, Belgium

House of Cards began with a constraint rather than a blank page. The architects Vantieghem Talebi had to build on an existing foundation in Koksijde, on the Belgian coast, and its lopsided cross shape became the plan. Each of the four arms rises as its own triangular volume, leaning together like a stack of playing cards, kept within the maximum permitted height and taking its cue from the steep roofs of the area's traditional beach houses.

Outside, battens of chemically seasoned Douglas fir run unbroken from the walls over the roofs, with the fixings, gutters and drains tucked behind so nothing interrupts the timber skin. The structure is prefabricated cross-laminated timber, put together on site in three days. The volumes meet in an off-centre arrangement, which frees the main living floor of columns and gives every room its own distinct shape.

Inside, that same timber is the finish. Floor panels mark out the bays across the living-room ceiling, bare panels follow the pitched roofs over the bedrooms and the central hall, and a floating staircase sits within a wooden floor grid. The restored dunes outside, heat-recovery ventilation and rainwater reuse complete the picture. It is a private home and a reader submission to designboom, so one to admire from the page, especially if you like timber houses that make something of their limits.

Our summary of a story from designboom, published 13 October 2026. Read the original

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