When the owner of a small triangular site in Burgundy, France, discovered a vault that was originally built as an explosion chamber to destroy a bridge, the Talus du Temple was born, though its original inspiration was a structure on the property where a former princess of Orange supposedly met with her lover.

This summer Dirk Jan Postel (Kraayvanger-Urbis) won the Benedictus Award for a small pavilion with a roof supported entirely by glass.

An 18th-Century tower on the site has become the basis of a small summer residence near Avallon. Above the tower, a small glass pavilion provides 360-degree views of the surrounding countryside. According to the temple's designer, the aim of the design "was to express the magic of the roof 'floating on nothing.'"

Postel accomplished this by cantilevering the roof of the building over two panels of laminated structural glass, with no other construction elements to block the view. The roof itself weighs 4400 pounds, which challenged the builders of the summer house. The roof had to be built first, and supported with scaffolding until it could be lowered onto the glass panels, so that pressure on the glass would be built up evenly. Besides the glass pavilion, the complex also includes one bedroom and a living room/kitchen unit.

Besides creating a romantic atmosphere, the Talus du Temple has created talk in the architectural community. The building earned Postel the Grand Prize in the 2002 DuPont Benedictus Awards, organized by the DuPont Corporation and the American Institute of Architects. The awards specifically honor design with glass. One juror commented on the Talus du Temple, "I have probably not seen a finer example of use of laminated glass as a total structural element."