In the hamlet of Pied de la Plagne in Morzine, the team made up by JKA architects and FUGA designers revisits Alpine carpentry techniques to convert a traditional farmhouse into a comfortable contemporary villa.
The disjointed battens formerly used for drying hay are replaced by a well thought-out system of cut-out patterns, which filters light into the heart of the building. Though complex and kinetic in detail, the original volume remains legible in the simplicity and strength of its design. The variation of cut-outs is designed to optimise light transmission while concealing the bay windows. The uniform system of large rough-sawn slats, made out of local spruce, restores the features of the original volume.
The interior volume is occupied by a succession of stacked floors. As for Adolf Loos’s “Raumplan”, the continuum of floors at different levels in the framework shelters the intersecting activities of the sixteen potential residents. The varying heights follow the different functions of the spaces and the necessary variety of configurations, ranging from common activities to intimate bathing and sleeping spaces.
The restored wooden framework is revealed by the high-spaced central area, which opens on its four façades. In each corner, four complexly designed and more closed blocks shelter the rooms and their amenities. The resulting cross plan creates a space protected from the outside by the openwork cladding, and bathed in a diffuse light. Throughout the day, the path of the sun follows the course of the activities. Heavy felt curtains allow dividing the central space at night and covering up the bay windows. The solar villa evokes a lifestyle in harmony with its surroundings.
The team made up by JKA + FUGA experiences here a global design: between the design of the alcoves and the integrated furniture; between the design of the pattern covering the four façades and the detail of the zigzag stitching of the curtains; between the vibrations of the red cedar tiled roof and the panelling of the bedrooms made out of the same wood, the architects and designers have worked accordingly on a global concept reflecting the influence of the surrounding mountain and forest.
The use of rough materials is put at the service of the comfort expected by the client. The impression of bivouacking high up in the framework takes us back to primitive experiences, while this sense of rusticity is put in balance with a protected and privileged exposure to nature, in a form of luxury.
Jérémie Koempgen
