Govaert & Vanhoutte's House Graafjansdijk features fence-like walls and glazed living spaces
Squeezed onto an angular plot between a road and a small irrigation channel, this house near the Belgian village of Knokke comprises a timber-clad ground floor with a glass box resting on top (+ slideshow).
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_17.jpg)
House Graafjansdijk was designed by Bruges office Govaert & Vanhoutte, whose past projects include a minimal concrete and glass cemetery pavilion and a factory with walls of concrete, metal mesh and glass.
It provides a home for the owner of a local estate agents.
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_2.jpg)
The house takes its name from a dike built in the ninth century to protect areas of France and Belgium from North Sea storm surges.
The only remaining section of the Graaf Jansdijk is now a road that extends east from Knokke along one side of the site, which is bordered on its opposite edge by a narrow ditch.
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_0.jpg)
Govaert & Vanhoutte was asked to create a modern four-bedroom family home on this narrow plot, making the most of views towards the farmland on either side whilst providing privacy from the adjacent road.
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_8.jpg)
A single-storey volume containing the bedrooms occupies the entirety of the site at street level.
Its frontage is clad in fence-like timber boards that form an impervious surface, while the elevation looking onto the fields is mostly glazed.
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_11.jpg)
"A first decision we made was to integrate all night functions on ground level, closed towards the street and open towards the corn field," architect Michael Lammens told Dezeen.
"This creates a very intimate character. The only way to do this was to almost completely occupy the terrain on the first level."
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_10.jpg)
Weatherbeaten wooden cladding wraps around a garage positioned at the narrower end of the plot. On the side bounded by the water, the bedrooms extend around the edges of a small inner garden.
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_4.jpg)
Stairs lead from an entrance set back slightly from the street to a transparent volume containing the kitchen and living room. This smaller upper storey is raised above the level of the dike to offer views across the fields on either side.
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_16.jpg)
"In this way a strong horizontal plinth carries a glass lookout," Lammens added. "This horizontal character was important, integrating the house in its residential environment."
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_20.jpg)
The timber cladding extends one metre beyond the ceiling height of the ground floor to form a railing around a large decked roof terrace.
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_18.jpg)
A full-height sliding glass door connects the dining area with this terrace, which is lined on its opposite edge by a glass balustrade that ensures an uninterrupted view across the corn field.
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_23-e1446223735211.jpg)
The material palette used for the building's exterior is continued internally, with the same weathered timber boards applied to walls on both levels.
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_936_25.jpg)
Black tadelakt plaster flooring provides a tactile surface that is complemented by the raw metal used for the kitchen countertop and dining table.
White lime paint applied to the remaining walls and ceilings gives these surfaces a softer matt finish.
Photography is by Tim Van de Velde.
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_1.gif)
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_2.gif)
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![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_4.gif)
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_7.gif)
![House Graafjansdijk by Govaert Vanhoutte architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/10/House-Graafjansdijk_Govaert-Vanhoutte-architects_dezeen_9.gif)