Two connected passive houses now sit where one existing house once stood. The new volume reads as a single composition from the street, with white planes, vertical timber slats and restrained openings holding the façade together. Wood, glass and concrete set the tone, but it is the way the elements are arranged that gives the building its clarity. The front elevation stays controlled and compact, while the rear side opens up completely toward the garden.

Two houses, one clear outline

The replacement of the former house resulted in connected twin houses that answer the owner’s energy wishes in a direct way. Seen from the outside, the two dwellings present themselves as one homogeneous mass, not as separate halves. That visual unity is reinforced by the limited material palette. Concrete anchors the composition, glass cuts through it, and timber softens the surfaces where the eye meets gates, screens and frames.

The architecture avoids noise. Instead of switching between many finishes, it works with repetition and alignment. The white walls continue across the volumes, while the wood slat facade introduces a finer rhythm at the front. Those vertical lines break the flatness just enough to mark the entrance zone and the threshold to the house without turning it into a decorative gesture.

Wooden gates and the front layer

The wooden gate design is one of the first details that catches the eye. It sits close to the façade and works almost like a screen, filtering views while keeping the frontage legible. The timber slats create a steady pattern that contrasts with the smooth plastered surfaces around them. In photographs, the gate reads less like an accessory and more like part of the building’s primary skin.

That front layer also helps set up the project’s restrained language. The openings are precise, the joints are kept quiet, and the timber does not compete with the masonry and glass. The result is a frontage that feels measured, with the vertical wood elements pulling attention to the entry line and the path in front of it. Even the shadows fall in narrow bands, which makes the surface change across the day.

Sliding windows placed for passive solar gains

At the back, the composition shifts. Carefully positioned sliding windows bring in passive solar gains and open the house toward the garden. The glazing is not scattered across the wall; it is placed with intent, so the rear elevation can work as both a light source and a broad opening. This is where the project becomes most visibly generous, with large glass openings replacing the more closed language of the front.

Those slim window profiles matter because they keep the frames light in appearance. A slender middle stile of around 75 mm allows the wood sliding element to stay narrow, which leaves more surface for light and view. The line stays sharp, yet the timber gives it a tactile edge. From inside, the glazing frames the green setting outside; from the garden, the opening appears almost fully dissolved into the rear wall.

An open rear facade that shifts the mood

The open rear facade changes the entire experience of the building. What is compact and controlled at the front becomes airy and open at the back. The wall is worked through almost completely, creating a strong sense of lightness and visual release. In the interior images, the floor runs straight toward the glass, and the boundary between room and garden becomes a thin line rather than a hard stop.

That openness is not only about view. It also gives the interior a calm amount of daylight, which spreads across the light grey floor and reflects off the white surfaces. The garden appears close, with grass, gravel and planting visible just beyond the glazing. The opening does what the front layer cannot: it lets the house breathe outward without losing its precise outline.

Inside, the structure stays quiet and direct

From the living spaces, the material restraint becomes even more evident. Wood framing meets glass without unnecessary transitions, and the concrete elements appear where the architecture needs weight. The rooms do not rely on ornament. Instead, the depth of the openings, the thickness of the frames and the crisp edge of the floor line give the interior its shape. The view is often the main event: terrace, garden and the green strip outside become part of the room.

The photographs also show how the interior keeps close to the exterior language. Large panes sit beside timber details, and the daylight pulls the eye along the full width of the opening. A low concrete seat or step appears in some views, adding a grounded edge near the window. It is a small move, but it helps register the scale of the room and the exact point where the inside meets the outside.

Timber used as line, screen and frame

Timber carries several roles here. It forms the gate design, marks the front facade with vertical slats, and appears again as the frame around the larger openings. That repetition gives the house a consistent material grammar without turning it repetitive. The wood reads differently each time: dense at the gate, lighter in the screen, sharper in the window surrounds. Against the white walls and grey concrete, the brown tones register as a steady counterpoint.

In detail shots, the slats and frames also show how the project handles proportion. The lines are slim, the spacing is disciplined, and the openings stay readable even when the timber covers a large area. The effect is not decorative layering. It is a way of controlling view, shade and surface at the same time, using a single material to do several jobs.

What the garden side reveals

The garden side makes the house feel less like a closed object and more like a set of openings arranged around light. White volumes sit beside broad glazing, and the green setting softens the hard edges of the concrete and plaster. Gravel paths and planted strips run along the base of the building, so the architecture rests lightly on the site while still reading as a solid mass from the street.

Seen as a whole, the project is defined by that shift between closed and open, heavy and light, front and back. The massive passive houses hold their form through precise details rather than visible complexity. Every part of the composition stays close to the essentials: timber, glass, concrete, and a rear wall that gives daylight room to enter. The result is a house pair that reads with unusual calm, even before you step inside.

Photography: Tim Van de Velde Photography