L33 Narrow House

English description provided by the architects.

The site, composed of two through parcels, forms a pause within the built density of the Bonnefoy district.

On the other side, the land is occupied by dense vegetation, characteristic of an undergrowth atmosphere, including a majestic hackberry tree that extends widely over Massé Street, signaling the presence of a green plot along this urban street.

It is therefore in the spirit of a "preserved forest" that the project is conceived, minimizing the building footprint to the width of the existing garages.

While the building rises to four levels to align with its neighbors along the street, it steps down in a cascading manner at each level toward the garden and the opposite street, ending with a gable at a single ground-floor level.

The construction thus becomes a succession of three terraces. These terraces are designed as suspended gardens with deep soil, planted according to their respective sun exposure.

The construction system chosen for this project is a concrete post-wall/slab structural frame, which both supports the heavy loads of deep soil on the terraces and allows for a fully opened façade facing the garden.

Interior fittings are made of pine plywood, and the worktops are protected with stainless steel sheets.

The act of building is thus understood as a response to a specific situation, without losing the qualities of the place that already existed prior to our intervention.