This modern dream home takes us to the countryside of the small French village town, Lyon.  The project required aum architects to conceptualize how it would even be possible to build, since it was on a steep slope off of a natural reservation and required authorization to build a contemporary building.  In addition, the 260 sqm house also required a compromise with the neighbor in order to build a path to gain access to the lower portion of the site.  Talk about a list of obstacles before you even start!

The structure is a 23m x 7m parallelepiped, made of concrete, steel, and glass.  Embedded into the slope of the terrain, the  house is composed of two floors and natural materials that are untreated to keep their original aspect.  Concrete was primarily used for the envelope and floors, steel for the pillars and window frames, and untreated exotic iroko wood for the external curtain.

The wood curtain is the namesake of the house, composed of shapes that were termed ‘biscuits’ by the first French magazine that published the home.  The functional wood curtain required over 200 hours of construction, and helps integrate the home into the landscape as well as reducing the impact of morning sunlight in the bedroom.  All rooms are exposed to daylight, and the large opening in first floor enables sunshine to reach the ground floor. 

The ground floor is lined with windows going from floor to ceiling, and open to into the garden, allowing all to enjoy the landscape.  Within the house are thoughtful design elements including a suspended fireplace and stairway that support the feeling on continuity from inside to out.

Posted by Dana Pruskowski at 15 October, 2010

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