old and new textures interplay in the extension of renovated old farm in france

Martin Migeon Architecture revives ‘House Near Bordeaux’

Martin Migeon Architecture transforms an existing barn located in a small hamlet in Charentes-Maritimes, France, into a holiday house overseeing the Gironde estuary. The renovation project is conceived as a sequence of differentiated volumes each with its own orientation and distinct characteristics.

The first gesture is to propose an extension widely open onto the estuary. The pre-existing buildings were originally organized around a shared courtyard with the neighbors’ patios to meet the needs of agriculture and animal rearing, thus ignoring the view. The extension hosts the main collective spaces for the family, the kitchen, living and dining area, and wood stove, and gives access to a large covered terrace.

The second gesture is removing a roof between two existing volumes to shape a patio. The new outdoor space, directly linked to the terrace of the extension, is well-protected from the wind allowing for an alternative atmosphere and use. These two operations result in a project made of juxtapositions of volumes, circulation, usages, and materials. Exposed concrete frames are poured on-site to form large openings, as well as to reinforce the walls.

notions of old and new interplay in a collage of raw materials

The new extension develops its material character through a juxtaposition of three elements: a largely closed timber facade on the street side, an exposed concrete portico with three posts and a beam, and a monumental colonnade made of five round polished concrete columns, on which stands the timber roof structure that defines the shape of the volume. Through the project of ‘House Near Bordeaux’, the design team initiates a dialogue between old and new, generating curious collages of raw materials, volumes, roofs, and geometries. Multiple openings allow for outdoor and indoor spaces to interlace through a variety of routes to use every day. In the winter, the wood stove burns quietly and one can unwind observing the water in the distance. In the summer, all windows remain open, and fresh air circulates fluidly throughout, moving around old stones and new elements, between the shelter and the landscape.

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project info:

name: HOUSE NEAR BORDEAUX
designer: Martin Migeon Architecture | @martinmigeon + Anouk Migeon Architect

location: Chenac, France

photography: Gion von Albertini | @gionvonalbertini

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