HOUSE V.W

This small pavilion in the forest stands on the edge of a cliff dominating the surroundings of Étretat, and giving views on Yport village in Normandy. The run-down building was entirely taken apart – an opportunity to study all the possible means of winning back a few square metres here and there.

First of all, the technical equipment – such as the hot water tank, the pump, the electricity meter and the garden shed – was removed from the house and incorporated into a gallery dug out from the hillside that therefore was not subject to building regulations. Then, to make use of the attic space, the upper floor level was lowered by a metre: a thin technical concrete slab was implemented to permit the creation of this additional floor level. This was followed by the construction of a volume to the rear of the house for the wet rooms – a kitchen on the ground floor and a bathroom on the upper floor.

In compliance with the mayor’s wishes, the extension cannot be seen from the village of Yport lying beneath. Everything was done with a constant concern for the environment – wood-burning heating, mineral fibres for partitions and insulation, natural ventilation. The project meets the requirements of HEQ (High Environmental Quality) standards, in particular as regards the issues of rainwater harvesting, the hybrid use of solar and geothermal energy, and thanks to the load distribution research, the optimization of raw material use.