Collector House
The project is located in the commune of Le Rouret in the Alpes Maritimes, on the edge of a protected natural area. The house is accessible via an old forestry road that extends into a hiking trail leading north to the Gorges du Loup.
The house is located at the balance point of the plot in a relatively gentle topography.
The project is articulated in the geometry of the restanques, of an old peasant shelter in the south of the plot and at the edge of a hundred-year-old oak tree that we wanted to preserve. The design adopts a simple volumetry and a U-shaped organization of spaces forming a small interior courtyard following the typology of a vernacular farmhouse. The north-facing courtyard offers shade, privacy and calm, while providing a beautiful panorama; in the foreground the olive grove and the swimming pool, in the background the Gorges du Loup and the wider landscape.
The house and its pool regulate and reveal the topography of the site in a flexible way without generating any remodelling of the land. They integrate smoothly into the site. The east and west facades are set back 70 cm from the natural ground. The swimming pool has been designed to be slightly above ground and gives the image of a vast cattle drinking trough.
The single-storey house is composed of two main volumes: The first volume, with a single sloping roof, welcomes the living functions with the night rooms and a Japanese bath with a view of the olive grove in the north-west wing.
To the south, two service spaces frame a comfortable "living space" which takes its light from the south via a large portico with a span of over 9m.
A second volume of simple form with a double-pitched roof, slightly detached from the first, houses a beautiful exhibition space for the owner's collection.
The materials reflect the rural character of the house, with canal tile roofs, whitewashed facades and occasional sandblasted concrete blocks, allowing the duality between traditional and contemporary architecture to be played out.
