Villa, Normandie (14)

Located on a hillside, facing the sea, built on the basis of an existing house, the new villa plays the contrast between transparency and opacity, between views through wide bay windows and massive brick facing. Along a full wall of lights, borrowing a massive Corten steel door, the visitor discovers an entrance bathed in natural light under a magnificent canopy. Burying itself in the orchard, the house reveals a more intimate outdoor space consisting of a terrace and a swimming pool; The house is installed as a protective element facing the west winds. Thanks to a staging of the perspectives between interior and exterior, the different spaces are discovered, become accessible according to their status: in a visual continuity but at a distance physically by a play of lights, materials, floors and ceilings. The very open spaces, without intermediate structure, offer a simple, direct reading, and value the singular elements like the staircase. The continuity of the wood on the ground or for the arrangement accompanies the visitor in a succession of spaces forming a coherent and soothing whole.