Prior to construction, the land was a meadow for horses and beyond is woodland and moors. The location is on the boundary of the red zone (building limit) which means that there will never be any further development on the right side of the house. To the south-west, there is a substantial fall of land, the bottom section of which is woodland. Says the architect / owner: ‘The natural foliage and vegetation here allows us to live in close proximity to bird-life.’

The rectangular structure is sectional, with three levels of 80m² each, to which a garage and technical workshop is added. Another covered storage connection separates the car port and covered terrace. The lower level is partially inserted into the hillside and includes the architect’s office. It is built in masonry while the two upper levels are of wood-frame construction.

Construction of this project started in April 2006 and comprised: earthwork, masonry for the first level and drainage. The building of the upper frame took just one month to complete, beginning in May and finishing in June, thus taking advantage of the temperate European Spring and Summer.
Architect Caroline Fontaine recalls: ‘By mid-June we had an enclosed volume and from there we did nearly everything necessary to establish the logistics and services of the building on our own: insulation, partitions, electricity, heating, sanitaries, floors, and the interior wainscotings. Yet, this was time-consuming, especially the finishes and details; we finally took occupation during Christmas, six months later.

July/August 2010 Issue

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