Revealing the unvarnished truth of what a house is built from will today usually mean revealing a range of mass-produced, industrially processed materials. Such materials are often considered inexpensive, and perhaps for that reason, aesthetically inferior to materials such as natural wood, stone, brick, or even reinforced concrete. Traditionally materials such as concrete block or wood chip board are used in back of house areas or they are concealed under layers of construction that can be finished in a way that looks polished.
In this house, designed by Patrice Bideau, these basic materials are not only allowed to show their face, but they are offered as part of an environmental narrative that goes to the heart of the scheme.
The client explicitly wanted a house that could meet rigorous French environmental standards and even specified certain materials for use. He described this brief as the “Gaia Charter” presumably after “Gaia” the book by James Lovelock that first saw the earth as an interconnected living system.
The architect came -up with a combination of concrete and timber frames. The envelope is heavily insulated as you would expect, and is clad externally with Red Cedar and zinc. The timber helps the building to recede into its setting within an orchard, whilst the zinc and strong forms prevent it from vanishing altogether.
The building is designed to take advantage of thermal mass, and carefully considered glazing allows the penetration of winter sun combining to create a thermally stable internal environment.
Internally the finishes are modest. Painted concrete block and wood chip board are treated as decorative finishes and give something of the feel of a utilitarian farm building. But that only goes so far and the polish of finer finishes such tile floors remind us that it is not the intention to abandon our creature comforts.
Look up Patrice Bideau's work
here.
