Type architecture: Modern

Transforming a commercial space, using light, space and raw materials in a way that respects the existing building.

Before …

Target

Convert a commercial space on the first floor of a 1980s building into living space, while revealing the qualities of the existing building.

Course of action

The building’s orientation (East-West), its relationship to the exterior (garden and street) and its structure (reinforced concrete) were the three characteristics that guided the design process.

The plan expresses this orientation, allowing the building to “follow the sun” throughout the day, and thus to have a living space that changes atmosphere according to the light. The existing reinforced concrete structure organizes the apartment and creates sequences. It is also the starting point for the materiality. The brutality of concrete contrasts with the warmth of oak and the preciousness of stainless steel. The painted oak floor is deliberately neutral and light, like a backdrop for the furniture. Framing is used to reveal, give depth, set the scene or escape. They create transversal relationships between the reception and service areas.

Achievement

To make the transition from commercial to residential use, the street entrance was modified to create a new relationship with the street, and to distance the building from it by opening onto the garden.

A new street façade was created, and the first floor was turned into a living space by “inhabiting” the windows: in the kitchen in the living area and the dressing room in the bedroom.

On the garden side, a generous bench was created to encourage contemplation.

The building presented a number of technical constraints, notably the presence of water and air drainage systems. Meticulous work had to be carried out on site on the false ceilings to keep the volumes uncluttered and make them a strength of the project.

Original plans & project

An ambience combining raw elegance and luminous warmth.

L'ARCHITECTE Louis EISENLHOR

architectes@archik.fr
  • Crédits photosPhilippe Billard
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Tel un petit hôtel particulier, une belle entrée principale éclairée par une paroi de pavés de verre conduit à l’escalier en comblanchien qui dessert les niveaux hauts de réception et de nuit, le niveau bas étant constitué par des pièces techniques, de stockage et le garage. D’emblée, le ton est donné par la couleur bleue vive des murs.

Au premier niveau, une galerie en L de 55 m² multiplie les ouvertures sur les balcons et est articulée autour d’une cheminée de brique qui s’étire sur un beau comptoir. Un pilier mis en exergue rappelle la structure du bâtiment. Une nouvelle nuance de bleu habille les murs qui se terminent au plafond par des arrondis soulignant les angles, tandis que le sol a volontairement conservé les stigmates de la redistribution : parquet blond et petits carreaux complétés par un revêtement rappelant le granito. La seconde partie de l’étage se compose d’une unité d’habitation comprenant un séjour avec cuisine ouverte aux couleurs éclatantes, deux chambres, une salle d’eau, une véranda et une vaste terrasse. Les deux niveaux supérieurs forment un duplex familial : cinq chambres déclinent chacune la gamme des couleurs joyeuses, complétées par deux salles d’eau et une salle de bain aux faïences lumineuses. Certaines chambres ont conservé leur cabinet de toilette d’origine parfaitement intégré dans les nombreux agencements conservés.

Accessible par un escalier à vis qui monte au ciel, le dernier étage est traité comme le pont supérieur d’un paquebot avec ses stratifiés et ses arrondis. Une pièce de vie avec cuisine et un petit salon occupent un espace où intérieur et extérieur se confondent à nouveau grâce à son roof top périphérique dominant la ville : Église Notre Dame, plage de la Grande Conche, Port, Palais des Congrès, estuaire et océan.

Roger Mialet

Architecte français né en 1906, Roger Mialet étudie à l’École des Beaux‑Arts de Paris, dans les ateliers de grands architectes comme Louis Hippolyte Boileau, Roger Henri Expert et Eugène Beaudouin. Au cours de sa carrière, Mialet exerce comme architecte à Paris s’engage dans des projets d’habitat et d’urbanisme, mais il est surtout connu pour ses travaux lors de la reconstruction après-guerre

L’une de ses réalisations majeures concerne la ville de Royan, marquée après la Seconde Guerre Mondiale par d’importants travaux de reconstruction. Il y supervise notamment : ’Îlot 106, un ensemble d’immeubles collectifs combinant logements et commerces, conçu en 1956, livré en 1961, l’Îlot 85, un autre programme d’habitat collectif datant de la même période, ainsi que des logements particuliers contribuant ainsi à la reconfiguration urbaine de Royan.

Ces projets témoignent de son engagement dans l’architecture d’après-guerre, mêlant reconstruction urbaine, logements collectifs et mixité d’usage.

A contemporary renovation that respects the special soul of this beautiful 110 m2 flat in the heart of the Old Port of Marseille.

Target

To give this typical Old Port flat a new lease of life by revitalising and brightening it up.

Course of action

The idea was to rebalance the volumes of the place and to redefine the living rooms. The idea was also to create a work space that could become a spare bedroom, while keeping the beautiful light provided by the four windows.

The renovation and decoration of the flat was designed in several stages, in order to trace the eclectic career of its occupants, mixing contemporary pieces and travel objects.

Achievement

Changing the volumes of the kitchen was the first thing to be done in order to remodel the living room, to integrate a lounge and a dining area. Unifying the ceiling by sanding the beams (former galley masts) allowed them to regain their original clarity and softness. The challenge was to maintain the feeling of space without losing the clarity, thanks to the glass roof and steel joinery, separating the office from the living room. All of this was achieved by maintaining a colour palette that harmonised with the clay tiles on the floor, by creating a dialogue between the furniture and by creating beautiful perspectives thanks to an XXL mirror with generous curves.

In the night space, a parental suite has been designed, full of softness and fantasy. The bathroom of the suite was entirely made to measure, with gold marble tiles highlighted by a delicately powdered pink that is accentuated by the copper tapware. The choice of a thick, light-coloured carpet brings to the whole the luxury touch of the grand hotels and an unparalleled voluptuousness.

A warm and delicate glow, revealed by the beautiful light of the South.

L'ARCHITECTE NOUVELLE MAISON STUDIO

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Before …

Renovation of a typical apartment of the 60s. Bright, located on a whole floor at the corner of 2 streets, it originally had 3 bedrooms, a shower room, a bathroom and a kitchen. Bought by a couple, one bedroom was removed to create instead a beautiful living space.

Target

To give character to an apartment that didn’t have much. Favouring a large living space, very luminous, where the various pieces of furniture of the owners, keen on design of the 50s and 60s, will be highlighted. Renovate the whole, in its juice, with short perspectives, and with dark and not very functional rooms of water.

Course of action

Destructure to restructure. Open up the spaces as much as possible, but restructure them by using cross-cutting woodwork, giving onto both the hallway and the living room for example, or onto the hallway and the kitchen. Re-open and lengthen the perspectives, bet on white (the majority of the woodwork) and on pretty materials with soft, subtle tones: light terrazzo for the kitchen, slightly marbled tiles for the shower room, matt white tiles, almost chalky for the large bathroom…

Achievement

Except for the 2 bedrooms and bathrooms, all the partitions have been removed. For the most part, they were replaced by custom-made woodwork. For example, the wall of the corridor was replaced by a large bookcase, located in exactly the same place, but which lets the light pass. A lot of work was done on the parquet floor, which was entirely renovated and completely redone in some rooms where there was none left. The kitchen was enlarged to the maximum, with the same principle of “crossing” furniture giving on the corridor. The two bedrooms were optimized by creating custom dressings at the head of the bed. A very graphic joinery work marks the entrance, and gives a strong personality, in contrast to the rest of the essentially white joinery.

A renovation that gives pride of place to materials and light.

LE QUARTIER

Périer – Delibes

An extension of the very chic Carré d'Or, Périer is one of the most sought-after neighborhoods...

L'ARCHITECTE Un jour d’avril

architectes@archik.fr
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Before …

En complément de la maison principale, deux dépendances de forme cubique aux toitures plates complètent l’ensemble, implantées en juxtaposition sur le terrain, articulées autour de patios le tout entouré de végétation luxuriante aux allures japonisantes.

La première avec son angle entièrement vitré héberge un bureau / chambre d’amis avec une salle d’eau privative, reliée à la maison principale par un chemin surmonté d’une pergola.

Toujours dans les mêmes codes seventies, la seconde en fond de parcelle s’articule en L autour d’un patio planté d’un érable du Japon. Elle comprend une buanderie lumineuse et une suite permettant d’installer un bureau ou une deuxième chambre d’amis.

En complément de l’architecture d’origine, cet espace aux mêmes codes à été sublimé par un ensemble de parois menuisés en contre-plaqué lasuré qui masque des linéaires de rangements ainsi que la salle d’eau, tout en ajoutant un coté chaleureux.

Patrick Maxwell

Architecte bordelais actif dès la fin des années 60, Patrick Maxwell s’inscrit dans la lignée du mouvement moderniste régional, marqué par une approche sobre, fonctionnelle et profondément ancrée dans le contexte local. Son travail explore la réinterprétation des formes urbaines bordelaises, notamment l’échoppe, qu’il revisite dans un langage architectural épuré et contemporain.

Ses réalisations se distinguent par l’emploi de matériaux bruts – béton poncé, enduits blancs, menuiseries bois – et une recherche de lumière naturelle à travers de larges ouvertures et des jeux de transparence. L’articulation entre intérieur et extérieur est axe important de son travail : patios, jardins intégrés et circulations fluides traduisent une conception où la nature prolonge l’espace habité.

Sans ostentation, l’architecture de Patrick Maxwell exprime une rigueur géométrique, une clarté des volumes et une simplicité maîtrisée, témoignant d’un modernisme humaniste et parfaitement adapté à l’art de vivre bordelais.

Without fundamentally modifying the volumes of the apartment, the work consisted above all in a refreshment in all points of view (kitchen, painting, parquet floor, joineries), in order to offer to the purchasers an apartment which resembles them: an apartment with character, at the same time eclectic and audacious.

Target

To modernize an apartment in the Cité Radieuse while preserving its soul, drawing on the work of Le Corbusier.

Course of action

To provide a setting for the numerous works of art and designer furniture of the owners, great art lovers.

Achievement

The layout has been completely redesigned to highlight and stage the couple’s works. The kitchen has been completely redesigned to be more suitable in terms of functionality, while at the same time redoing some of Le Corbusier’s and Charlotte Perriand’s characteristic kitchen elements (high cupboards, reminder of the wooden handles on the kitchen fronts, etc.).
The range of colors used in the apartment is also directly inspired by the range of paint that Le Corbusier used in Bordeaux for the Cité Frugès, whether for the kitchen, or for certain volumes that have been repainted in pink, ivory white, almond green and red.

A precise renovation offering the best possible showcase for pieces and works of art!

LE QUARTIER

Sainte-Anne

Sainte-Anne is a typical residential area of the "city of 111 villages".

L'ARCHITECTE ÉCLECTISME CORBUSÉEN

  • Crédits photosOlivier Amsellem
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L’ avant …

More than a renovation, this project is a revelation of a rare Type G duplex on the south façade of the Cité Radieuse. The flat was acquired by Cité Radieuse enthusiasts, so the idea was to restore it to its original appearance with the greatest respect for Le Corbusier.

Target

To adapt this flat to a modern family life, by imagining new spaces, while respecting the place’s original design.

Course of action

To create a bright and peaceful family flat. Customize the spaces so that every member of the family makes it its own.

Achievement

On the ground floor, the kitchen was completely refurbished, the niches were revealed, and the entrance furniture was tailor-made. The window frames were given a new lease of life after thorough sanding. On the first floor, the two children’s bedrooms were recreated in length, and the original sliding door was restored to its original state. Charlotte Perriand’s wardrobes were heightened to create a different space for each girl. In the large master bedroom, a desk/bookcase runs along the wall and adds a graphic element. Finally, an incredible cellar on the first floor has been integrated into the flat, creating a vast dressing room on one side and a laundry room on the other.

A delicate renovation, enhancing the work of Le Corbusier while adapting it to our times.

LE QUARTIER

Sainte-Anne

Sainte-Anne is a typical residential area of the "city of 111 villages".

L'ARCHITECTE PURETÉ GRAPHIQUE

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Before…