A Belgian house made from the idea of cards

This Belgian family house starts with a shape almost anyone would recognise: the pitched-roof home made in miniature from playing cards. Vantieghem Talebi takes that familiar outline and pushes it into something much stricter, with three timber-clad storeys, steeply raked roofs and façades pared back so far that roof and wall read as one continuous surface. Built on existing foundations in a neighbourhood with tight zoning rules, the house also nods to the area’s historic beach houses while making the most of the allowed volume through a cruciform plan.

The material handling is as disciplined as the form. Chemically seasoned Douglas-fir battens wrap both roof and façade, all pre-made so screws and nails do not interrupt the lines, while gutters and drainage are concealed. Inside, prefabricated CLT panels were assembled on site in a matter of days, creating four structural bays and column-free rooms. The upper spaces rise into the eaves like what the architects call ‘pitched chapels’, lined in timber with timber floors, while the ground-floor living areas are lighter, with white walls and a floating staircase hung from the floor above. Below, poured concrete and rendered walls give the basement a heavier feel, including the garage.

It is a private home rather than somewhere to visit, but it is worth reading for the way a very ordinary house type is reworked with such control. If you like residential architecture that makes a lot from limits, this one repays a close look at the details.

Our summary of a story from Wallpaper*, published 4 October 2026. Read the original

Photos: Wallpaper* · See all 8