2010 – Les Versants II _ Haute Savoie France

 

 

Program Low-consumption building 23 flats / houses
Area 1800 m²
Place Bonneville, Haute-Savoie France
Owner Private
Calendar design 2011
Team Eric Cassar, Juvenal Rubinos, Haï Le, Constance Bartin, Lucie Rieutord
Engineering Cubic (economist), ABAC (BET)

General principles Modification / simplification of the project «les Versants»
 

The objective is to create collective housing where occupants have the feeling to be in their own private house.
The building is composed of three elements : one body in grey concrete where on one side wood houses get revealed at several altitudes and on the other side an oblique translucent front wall (double envelope) protects from the outside environment.

The oblique translucent wall, made of polycarbonate, is reflecting the sky. This frontwall is pierced with several windows made of coloured polycarbonate (stained glass atmosphere). This envelope delimits an in between space either inside or outside. This space that can be a winter garden or a winter terrace is protected from the climate (snow) and from the street noise. This envelope allows an adaptation to the climate. It heats the air in winter and thanks to special openings hot air gets outside in summer. Architecture expresses itself through transparency and reflects of the sky, creating a façade always in movement. Retaining a portion of snow in winter, the elements of the façade highlights the changing and moving personnality of the builiding.

In front of the mountain, the outgrowths (small wood house) are floating at several altitudes into the vegetation. They offer summer terraces in the trees, allowing to listen to the birds, in front of the mountain.