House EH

A foresight project: the walk of life

A big single-family house from the fifties thrones in the middle of the field. This house requires too much maintenance, and climbing stairs becomes strenuous for the owners.

They wanted to build an adapted and sustainable housing that would allow them to live their independent life as long as possible. They were looking for a way to stay on their own land, in their beautiful garden, to preserve their autonomy by conceiving an alternative living for their elderly days. The house had to be compact, nothing superfluous. Circulation had to be fluid and comfortable – avoiding stairs. The main desire of the owners was to be in the landscape all year long.

Small urbanism: inhabit the landscape

The new house is settled on the curved and straight walls that used to shape the garden. As the house aims to have a reduced surface, it was necessary to create a wide entrance volume, as a transition from the landscape to intimacy, as well as a natural barrier between the two houses. The ornament of this façade is a carrier made of oak wood, inspired by the aesthetics of the fifties.

The house is a wooden construction on a concrete basement. Its interior is conceived around a wooden nucleus, sheltering the bathrooms and part of the kitchen. During the day, and depending on the light, it is possible to turn around the nucleus and spend a moment sitting at the edge of a window reading a book, contemplating the weeping willow behind the terrasse, spending a moment by the fireplace in the winter, or contemplating the bamboo through the curved wall.

A healthy room atmosphere is created by material choices: wooden walls and slabs, oak window frames, wood-wool building boards and mineral floor.

Keep future sparkling

The aim was to keep living to be a pleasure by creating a safe, accessible and comfortable housing for elderly people in a familiar context. An additional room on the lower level can be used in an independent way, by eventual nursing staff.