This residence in France’s Massif Central area attributes a lower storey inserted into a disused sand mine and a glazed upper storey supplying views of the surrounding volcanic landscape (photographs by Zooey Braun + slideshow).
Made by Stuttgart company Werner Sobek – whose previous projects include a enormous cantilevered altar – the Y1 house is a family members residence that aims to merge with its organic setting, just outside the town of Yssingeaux.
Possessing scoured the reduced reaches of a hill in the region for a ideal plot, the clients and architects came across a former open-pit sand mine that afforded an possibility to partially embed the residence in its site.
“The ground floor of the cellarless creating is completely huddled down in the pit, generating it only partially noticeable from the outdoors,” explained the architects.
“The features of the reduce storey all serve to underscore the artistic goal of totally like – or, far more precisely, integrating – the ground floor into the present all-natural surroundings.”
This lower volume is made up of a reception spot and workspace, a garage, a swimming pool, technical rooms and two self-contained apartments, and these are all organized around a glazed central courtyard.
Black cement boards clad the entirety of the steel-reinforced concrete structure, providing it a monolithic appearance.
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Its integration into the hillside is reinforced by landscaping that extends up and close to the elevations at the front of the site.
Towards the rear, exactly where the hillside rises behind the house, retaining walls manufactured from substantial blocks of stone produce a transition in between the building and the herb garden and lawn.
Perched on best of the strong ground floor is the slightly offset transparent box containing the kitchen, dining and living spaces, along with a master bedroom suite. A staircase and lift connect the two ranges.
The glazing that envelops the upper storey gives uninterrupted views of a landscape dominated by the cones of extinct volcanoes, with the rear elevation hunting out onto the backyard.
Only the first floor volume rises over the existing level of the slope, and its transparency implies it can barely be witnessed from the nearby town and roads.
The courtyard at the centre of the ground floor permits organic light to attain the surrounding spaces, which includes the swimming pool. Nearby herbs and flowers planted in beds all around its edges provide a normal complement to the sky over.
Inner spaces characteristic organic stone flooring and predominantly white surfaces to emphasis focus on the planting in the ground-floor courtyard, as effectively as the expansive views from the upper level.
Architects are increasingly taking standard volumes and stacking them askew to develop striking new types. Other homes that follow the trend contain a residence with a bridging upper storey in Switzerland and a 3-pronged home in New York state.
Photography is by Zooey Braun.
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