Repos Maternel women's shelter

The Repos Maternel is a shelter for pregnant women and young mothers of 18 and over, looking after one or several children, who are cut off from their families and socially and financially vulnerable. Located in a wooded park, the Château Lafon, a large country house built in 1920, provides residents with accommodation, support services and communal areas. Outbuildings scattered through the park housed a nursery, offices, and three halfway-house units for large families. As part of the modernisation and extension programme, all of these collective services have been retained and adapted to the needs of the institution. In order to group together the main components of the programme all the residential units have been kept inside the “château” itself. Ancillary functions have been placed in a sunken extension that continues on from the existing basement level, surrounding an open patio that provides a compromise between discreetness and visual attractiveness. Making the “château” stand on a flat green expanse in this way means that the topography of the park and the characteristics of the building have both been retained.