Single-storey house with 4 facades in Wavre

In Wavre, in Walloon Brabant, STARC architecture firm designed a single-storey detached house of approximately 150 m², built through self-construction on a gently sloping plot in a rural transition setting characterised by established vegetation and modest neighbouring buildings.

The house is set back from the road to preserve the openness of the foreground landscape and to engage in a respectful dialogue with the surrounding built fabric, whose discrete volumes are capped by dark double-pitched roofs. The architectural approach favours compactness and horizontality, accommodating the entire programme on a single level. This single-storey strategy simultaneously addresses universal accessibility requirements, a direct and continuous relationship between living spaces and the private garden, and the practical constraints inherent to a self-build project.

Glazing is distributed according to the function of each space, with generous openings towards the garden to draw in natural light and more restrained apertures on the street side to ensure privacy. The material palette references the earthy tones and dark renders of the vernacular context. The traditional double-pitched roof anchors the project within its environment without resorting to formal gestures that would set it apart. The preservation of the existing tree cover along the plot boundaries naturally frames the new volume and ensures its seamless integration into the landscape.

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