Adding 290 square feet to this already small (just 566 square feet) black A-frame in Brecht, Belgium, was all the local building ordinances allowed, but the architects at dmvA found that a single wing extended out to the side gave resident Rini van Beek all the storage and living space that she needs.
A technique was used for the wood front of the house called shou-sugi-ban, a traditional Japanese technique burning cypress wood to make it more sustainable. The wood is layered with bright orange planks. Solar collectors, which consist of double-glass tubes that minimize heat loss, form a cornice on the front facade of the house. A wind turbine is on the roof.
Built in 1953, the Wiley House is made up of a single glass-and-wood rectangular pavilion that’s perched on top of a rectangular box made of stone and concrete. Johnson chose the six-acre plot of land himself and was particularly fond of the natural slopes of the site, which is surrounded by hickory trees.
