Designed by French architect Nicolas Dahan, this villa in the middle of a pine forest is seamlessly built using expert wood engineering techniques and pushing the limits of glass with its expansive sliding doors.
The roof is comprised of 136 larch caissons, while the floor is made of 136 okume wood panels. The larch has been sanded down to acquire a finish usually reserved for furniture. There are no screws and no apparent nails. The use of shadow joints offers a unique sense of fluidity both inside and outside of the house. A central beam measuring 16-meters could overwhelm the space, but it is finished in such a way that it becomes part of the domestic realm.
The sliding glass doors reach here beyond 3 meters, much more than a standard 2,20 meters or so. Only 5 contractors in the world are able to offer such large volumes of glass.
The primary challenge came in that two-thirds of the house is built using glass walls that are too light to hold down the roof in heavy winter weather. As such, it was necessary to weigh the roof down with metal and anchor the house with concrete walls.
The result is a spectacular space that pushes wood and glass to their respective limits.
