In the centre of Antwerp, Belgium it is located Boris Vervoordt’s house in a small building erected in 1557 by artisan shoemakers. In 1969, Axel Vervoordt bought this little house. He began the renovation by designing a spiral staircase and a lift located in a tower adjacent to the building, to allow access between the various rooms. Axel Vervoordt passed on a taste for the Zen culture to his son, and like him Boris became interested in the Gutai movement, a Japanese pictorial art centered around gesture.
The floor is covered with wooden planks from a Romanian stable, which create an affinity with nature in the surrounding landscape and evoke the countryside, whilst being in the city centre. The light from Flanders floods in through a large window, as in a Vermeer painting. In the dining room, a 7-metre table placed at an angle, seats up to 30 people. The living room features a grand fireplace designed by Axel Vervoordt in 1973 with large slate tiles. The walls are covered with lime throughout the house. Finally, the living room on the second floor consists of two superimposed rooms, a double volume has been created within the ceiling.