Le Portail

The owners wanted a wooden structure house with clay and straw walls. The site had a very old house almost in ruins which its southern part had already collapsed.

Instead of building a new house from scratch and leaving the existing building unattended, we suggested to consolidate the stone building by adding a wood structure extension on the footprint of the missing piece, completing the jigsaw puzzle with a new addition. Orientated in 3 directions and protected on its North facade by the existing building, the house receives a substantial amount of energy through passive solar gains.

The walls are made of straw coated with lime and linen fibers. The house is equipped with hot water solar panels, wood stove and dry toilets.

• Date: 2013
• Categories: Residential
• Client: Sainte Marie, France