A charming historic façade in a quiet neighbourhood, in the heart of Nieuwpoort-Stad, conceals a world full of stories. The interior design of architect Bart Lens’s holiday home is a testament to exceptional craftsmanship, blending artistic nonchalance with Japanese precision.

In the wake of the devastation of the First World War, architect Jozef Viérin worked on a coherent urban design and rebuilt Nieuwpoort’s city centre in the Flemish Neo-Renaissance style, with the underlying aim of restoring a familiar living environment for the residents. Viérin had a firm grasp of the local architectural vocabulary, having studied the typical architecture behind the front line in 1917 on behalf of the Belgian government with a view to reconstruction. Around 1922, an urban dairy farm for milk cows was built on a spacious plot in Hoogstraat, of which the Vis à Vis house forms part. Its authenticity remained exceptionally well preserved until 2014 because the last resident, who lived to be 100, lived there her entire life and thus protected the property from property developers.