We inherited an abandoned courtyard, a forgotten courtyard at the end of a corridor, a non-place. We had to invent a programme to reveal it, to breathe new life into it. We feel that architecture also serves this purpose. A rich theme: the installation of a town house to accommodate guestrooms.
Vertically and underground, the courtyard grew and, beyond the form imposed on us, we chose to implement a single materiality. Visible from all sides, the roof became the main façade, covered with copper, spreading to a certain extent to give the whole ensemble a geometric abstraction.
The aim was to demonstrate that in a nearly frozen historical situation, it was still possible to offer a contemporary definition of space and its representation.
Through considerations of appropriateness, a difficult, arduous construction built far from any easy access led to the use of refined yet simple materials, draw from an offbeat approach: retaining walls dressed in beaten concrete; decorative brick for the walls and floors of a plant-lined courtyard. Copper covering the roof and exposed façades.
Steel cladding, arched and waxed, enveloping the ceiling of the entrance corridor with the walls clad in clay and mortar, alternating the rough with the smooth.
In reviving the link that previously existed with the street, we have therefore opted for continuity with the city that is endlessly building on itself. Is the courtyard the house?
