atelier azar renovates and enlarges home with wooden paneled volume

atelier azar renovates and enlarges home with wooden paneled volume
all images courtesy of atelier azar, noé cauderay

children grow older, knick knacks and toys and photo albums accumulate, and with time an unfaltering attachment bound to the place called home. unfortunately, structures don’t grow. what started as spacious for two, can become cramped for four in the blink of an eye. but after years of dedication to a particular spot, abandoning it is almost unfathomable. so a young family took a different route, and with the help of atelier azar, redesigned what they already had.

west façade

the preexisting home was composed of a single floor, with a basement and loft above — made smaller by the steeply pitched roof line. the updated plan changed everything above the main floor. a cubic, wooden volume was essentially plopped onto the existing structure. cement floors were integrated into the heating system, and large windows give a wide view to the surrounding landscape. the entire form was pre-fabricated, allowing construction to take place with a time frame of several days. materials were chosen for simplicity and efficiency, which drastically reduced the cost of work, while providing an excellent space for many years, and memories, to come.

top floor bedroom

terrace

staircase

at night

original structure

section: old (in red) and renovated

staircase section

upper bedroom floor plan

east façade

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edited by: nick brink | designboom