The main objective of Le Dévéhat Vuarnesson Architectes was to give a new life to the existing house without erasing its history and memories, working with what was already there and transforming it without distorting it.
The general organisation of the buildings around the courtyard was preserved, preserving the maximum number of existing elements. A small ruined courtyard was removed, opening up the view from the courtyard to the south, and the old stable was renovated, creating a multipurpose space.
To improve the comfort conditions in the house, the outer shell was insulated with wood fibre and double-glazed windows were installed, as well as underfloor heating. The new windows allowed sunlight to enter and improved ventilation.
La Grange by Le Dévéhat Vuarnesson Architectes. Photograph by Charles Pétillon.
Project description by Le Dévéhat Vuarnesson Architectes
"Erwan Bouroullec commissioned the LVA architectural studio, founded by Guillaume Le Dévéhat and Charlotte Vuarnesson, to carry out his project to renovate an old farmhouse in Burgundy (France). A long and meticulous project under the sign of benevolence, respect and collective intelligence, with the aim of respecting what already exists, enhancing the traces of the past, ancestral gestures and giving this place a character that is both versatile and durable.
All this, integrating the site into its natural environment in the most fluid way possible. From this emerges a landscaped house on a gentle slope with an almost 360-degree view of the surrounding valleys and forests: a new generation of rural architecture of pure and radical beauty, as humble in its language as it is effective in its environmental qualities. A place capable of evolving in multiple scenarios - to meet, create, rest, contemplate... - a resilient place also capable of resisting time."
Marion Vignal.
Understanding the layers of the building, its memories, and giving it a new life without erasing its history. Composing with what is already there, without distorting it but transforming it.
Revealing and magnifying the quality and beauty of rural architecture. Revealing the materials, uncovering the structure, preserving the raw state. Strive for obvious simplicity, to get as close as possible to the reality of the material. Advance step by step.
Convert, rehabilitate, establish a framework within which things will continue to evolve.
Maintain the natural slope of the land, which the buildings follow. Gently shape the land to create new paths. Create areas of natural balance to allow flora and fauna to develop freely. Ventilate the house naturally. Position the openings judiciously to allow air to circulate. Reveal the open character of the building and let in natural light.
Build building and landscape hand in hand. Introduce the landscape into the house, guiding the vegetation towards the facades.
Experiencing cold, wind, sun and rain. Observing the movement of landscapes and light through the seasons.
Preserving the structure of the general organisation of the buildings around the courtyard. Preserving as many of the existing buildings as possible. Opening up the view from the courtyard to the south by removing the small courtyard, which was collapsing. Replacing part of the asbestos roof of the old stable to create a large open, multi-purpose space. Reusing the old silage pit to create a natural pool.
Redoing the structure, softening the light with the warmth of Douglas fir, bringing together new wood and aged stone. Finding the right geometry.
Filtering the natural light of the workshop-shed with polycarbonate panels. Creating workshops in intermediate, covered, closed, unheated spaces, which cool in summer and protect from the cold and wind in winter. Working in these spaces, warming up around the wood stove.
Create a virtuous path for rainwater, stored in an underground tank and reused to water the garden and supplement the naturally filtered pool water.
Punctuate the façade with a rainwater tank made from a galvanized steel trough. Embellish with fish and vegetation.
Bring comfort to the house, insulating the roof from the outside with wood fiber, installing double-glazed carpentry, underfloor heating and wood stoves. Introduce light and sun into the house through huge fixed windows. Store heat by inertia. Keep cool in summer with blinds.
Reinforce the existing structure with collaborative plants. Create large central passage rooms, lively or quiet halls depending on the time of day and activities. Provide isolation spaces. Offer several entrances and exits to the house. Preserve the stone walls dividing the house, adding light wooden frame partitions.
Reuse the oak from the removed trusses to create the lintels of the new openings, compose three steps of stairs with stones found on the site of the house, recover the terracotta tiles to place them on the windowsills. Remake the nets, using gravel from the local quarry visible from the construction site.
Consider the future renovation of the beautiful small building, former pigeon house, with its simple volume and its cobblestone roof.
