It was THE real estate controversy at the end of last year. The old model of the pavilion with garden had been questioned by the former Minister of Housing Emmanuelle Wargon. However, it is acclaimed by three quarters of the French. We offer you five selected for the Archinovo 2022 competition, which has 44 projects in the running (see the other projects in the running at the end of the article) to win the prize for the most beautiful architect’s house.
• The cornerless house in Les Sables d’Olonne (85)
This 110 m² residence built for a retired couple takes on the appearance of a traditional pavilion, built in the center of its plot. Closer up, a linear wooden terrace surrounds the square house, giving the impression that the building floats above the garden. Bay windows are installed in each of the 4 corners to absorb a beautiful light throughout the year. Its Japanese-style roof overflows to block the sun’s rays during the summer, while letting them in during the winter months.
• House on the slope in Nancy (54)
A 280 m² house surrounded by a pond and a sheepfold on sloping ground. Invisible from the street, the house is topped with 4 juxtaposed reinforced concrete vaults that crown the whole and are adorned with dense vegetation. If the fifth facade that constitutes the roof offers a garden from the street, it also allows to collect all the rainwater in retention tanks for the maintenance of outdoor spaces.
• Raw earth house in Marseille (13)
This 115 m² single-storey house stands on land made up of terraces to the north-east of Marseille. Anxious to live in an eco-responsible house, the sponsors, a couple of doctors, wanted a wooden house. Instead of wood, the architects propose a load-bearing structure in raw earth, more suited to the Mediterranean climate and the topography of the place. The site’s earth being unsuitable for construction, they opted for excavated earth from a neighboring earthworks site, which provided the house with air conditioning and heating.
• Earth House in Rennes (35)
The project? Extending a 160 m² holiday pavilion located by the sea. The client had considered an elevation but, after studying the house, which was old and poorly insulated, the architects preferred to duplicate the existing structure so as not to overload the foundations . The new house-extension becomes the main residence and the old renovated house constitutes the guest space. The two houses are connected by their wooden frame and form a single dwelling.
• Villerez House in Lorrez-le-Bocage (77)
Nestled on its natural stone wall, this 98 m² house blends into its environment. With its light prefabricated wooden construction, the house seems to levitate above the site. Like the pre-existing wall, all the trees have been kept and the floors have been treated as water-permeable green spaces. The main volume of the house is treated as a large duplex loft. This project also had the ambition to reach the “passive house” level (without conventional heating), for better respect for the environment.