The plot is located on the edge of the village, along a ridge road overlooking the Eau d'Heure valley. It is part of a sparsely populated but nevertheless fairly built-up area. The house that stands on it seeks to maintain a special relationship with the landscape, which will give the rooms all their qualities. The elongated layout from the street follows the slope and is oriented towards the sun's path. It leaves a wide view of the landscape from the street.
The house is intended to be a large family home and its layout allows for variations in the number of inhabitants. The aim is therefore to design flexible spaces for a couple or a whole family. The ground floor is a continuous space on which the main rooms are arranged: the bedroom, the hall, the dining room and the living room. Each room has a unique domestic relationship with the outside depending on its orientation and position. Between them, more enclosed spaces are interspersed to accommodate private or utilitarian functions, each with its own atmosphere: the garage, the bathroom and laundry room, and the kitchen. Circulation therefore takes place between these two areas, one more open, the other more enclosed. At its end, the exterior volume folds in on itself to create a special room where the landscape can be viewed almost panoramically: a “winter garden”, a calm and contemplative room that opens onto the garden in summer and is closed in winter. Two folds in the roof bring light and diagonal views to the vertical circulation areas. On the first floor, an office and a mezzanine communicate with the double-height dining room. Further on, two bedrooms and a bathroom reconnect with the street. The asymmetrical double-sloped roof responds to the slope of the land, and the variations in the mouldings of the white bricks on the façade are reminiscent of the rural buildings found in the region.
photographs : © Severin Malaud