Description
Californian-inspired architecture, this 265 m2 architectural complex forms several housing units on a unique former agricultural and horticultural plot of 1,055 m2 in the heart of downtown La Ciotat. Here, time seems to stand still. Exuberant vegetation creates a living tableau where bamboo, Mediterranean species, eucalyptus and soon-to-be-century-old pines create a veritable canopy. An unexpected haven, invisible from the street, protected from any visual or noise nuisance.
The whole unfolds like a composition in four acts, where interior and exterior are constantly intertwined.
The old part of 105 m2 , carefully renovated, retains its authentic character while accommodating two independent dwellings. Testimony of a preserved past, it today dialogues with contemporary architecture with a flat roof.
The modern section, designed as a modernist cabin inspired by Le Corbusier, covers 160 m2. Three distinct volumes form a graphic and refined living unit: a main building houses the kitchen, a true American dinner, and two living rooms, largely open onto the garden patios. A second building is dedicated to the night, with three bedrooms including a master suite with its own bathroom. Finally, a third volume, designed for work and contemplation, houses an office on the garden level and, upstairs, a vast space designed around a century-old pine tree that literally crosses the architecture. The entire building is imbued with an architectural culture reminiscent of California and its art of living. The outdoor spaces naturally extend the living areas and blur the inside/outside boundary.
An aerial walkway connects the three buildings, integrating the outdoor spaces into the very heart of daily circulation. Here, the terraces, patios, and gardens are not annexes but rooms in their own right. The shadows of the foliage are projected in changing patterns on the white facades, in a sensitive and soothing graphic style.
At the center of this composition, the swimming pool becomes a gathering place, a point of convergence for the tribe that this house can accommodate.
Three outdoor parking spaces complete this property.
A rare balance between heritage and contemporary architecture, between intimacy and openness, between design and nature.
