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Inspired by traditional shapes and the surrounding nature, the chalet design is a unique architecture tailor-made for its residents. The owners wanted a warm space, fit to host family and friends, in harmony with the environment, a space that breathes fresh air and replenishment. The GRAND PIC cottage offers, through simplicity and sober physicality, a unique experience of symbiosis between nature and architecture.
The design of the cottage results from a sensitive reading of the magnificent woods in which it is located. Before even starting to imagine the project, our objective was to let ourselves be guided and inspired by the terrain’s characteristics. This experience of the terrain, from the very start, allowed use to seize all the potential of the different ambiances that were present. These ambiances directed the APPAREIL architecture team’s work. Each move was influenced by a desire to optimise the space’s intrinsic qualities.
Upon arrival at the site, beyond the building, the team considered the exterior spaces. In the periphery, the outfitting of a parking space allows residents to leave the car and give space to a pathway, from which the cottage emerges through the trees. The pathway transforms into a cedar sidewalk that leads to both pavilions.
The interior plane is organised around a central technical core. On the ground floor, the partitions were rendered minimally, freeing the living spaces. The kitchen, partially integrated with the core, benefits from a large storage space. On the second floor, the central core prolongs itself, this time into a dormitory zone for guests. Interior openings, overlooking the ground floor spaces, accentuate the influx of light and create a link between the two levels.
In contrast to the black monochrome exterior, the interior overflows with light through its openings, and through the brightness of its materials. On the walls, the Russian plywood was highlighted. The omnipresence of light wood tinges the interior light, giving it similar characteristics to the light under the nearby vegetal cover. The wood’s texture on all walls and ceilings of the interior envelope allows the shape of the vernacular-inspired main interior volume to be accentuated.
The objective of creating a sober and warm space for the owners was made possible through an architecture steeped in simplicity. As much through its volume and its design as through its exterior and interior coverings, the GRAND PIC cottage offers a timeless construction inspired by Nordic traditions.
Nick Myall
News editor