French agency Toledano + Architects has renovated an condominium within the seaside city of Biarritz, including a raised sleeping space that appears out in the direction of the close by lighthouse via a enormous bay window.
The condominium was initially the doorway corridor of a typical Nineteen Thirties villa designed within the Basque model, with a bay window going through the lighthouse and the Atlantic Ocean.
Architect Gabrielle Toledano‘s Paris-based studio was tasked with changing the house right into a vacation residence for a pair of their sixties, who get pleasure from browsing and the tradition of the Basque area.
The shoppers needed a spot to sleep that may be used to host dinner events, so the architects prompt including a mezzanine degree to optimise the compact 70-square-metre footprint.
Fluid types impressed by the seaside location characteristic all through the condominium’s inside, from the sculptural wood steps within the residing house to a wave-like wall within the bed room.
“The waves and the sinuous coast set the tone for the mission, totally drawn in curves,” Toledano mentioned.
The recent higher degree was constructed as a completely impartial construction to minimise its influence on the present house. It incorporates a mattress oriented in the direction of the view and a curving wall that conceals wardrobes and the toilet.
The lavatory was designed just like the cabin of a ship and incorporates a porthole-like round window that gives an ocean view from the bathe.
One other critical aspect throughout the house is the present bay window, the place the shoppers requested seating so they might look out throughout the ocean.
The window frames are constructed from metal to minimise the thickness and maximise resistance to robust winds, whereas the glazing disappears into pocket openings within the partitions to open the house as much as the outside.
“The bay window is the principle character of the house due to the spectacle it presents, like a portray in everlasting motion,” mentioned Toledano, describing the lively view in the direction of the horizon.
A five-metre-long bench extends the total size of the residing space, built-in right into a four-metre-high bookcase that frames the bay window and gives house for showcasing the couple’s pictures assortment.
The kitchen is tucked beneath the mezzanine and might be fully hid behind a set of bi-fold doorways. Constructed-in joinery that flows alongside the partitions incorporates a bathroom positioned within the again nook.
A minimal materials palette used all through the inside goals to lighten the house and supply a connection to the maritime setting.
Structural components and partitions are painted delicate inexperienced to enhance the oak flooring and joinery, whereas stainless-steel surfaces add a up to date reflective element that references maritime structure.
Quite than fully gutting the house and ranging from scratch, Toledano regarded to utilize what was present and restrict her interventions to lend a hand obtain a extra sustainable final result.
The unique parquet ground was fastidiously restored and the present entrance door was retained and tailored to suit beneath the mezzanine.
Most supplies used for the inside had been sourced from shut by and native artisans had been employed to suit out the house. The bay window was upgraded utilizing photo voltaic glass to lend a hand management the temperature, whereas inside blinds are used to filter the solar.
The Lighthouse condominium options on the shortlist for Dezeen Awards 2024 within the residential inside class, alongside initiatives together with a renovated Parisian townhouse that utilises biomaterials like rammed earth and cross-laminated timber.
Based in 2013, Toledano + Architects focuses on modularity and sustainability in its initiatives, which embody a Paris condominium that includes a sinuous plywood wall and a Tel Aviv penthouse with a folded metal staircase suspended at its centre.
