The house that René Heyvaert (1929–1984) built for his brother in 1958 on the outskirts of Ghent has, unexpectedly, become an unlikely model home. Architects have expressed their admiration for it, and this piece of architecture, so often adapted over the years, remains a challenge to our notions of what constitutes good living.

Sixty years old and set in a beautiful, almost untouched green environment, the Heyvaert house still speaks a language we can understand, like the anti-hero of a post-war novel. Disillusioned yet brimming with ideals, this house remains a piece of architecture that speaks quietly but resolutely, much like the young Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s 1951 novel *The Catcher in the Rye* – not coincidentally an author who ultimately turned his back on literature.