Remarkable architecture from the 1960s, this Californian villa is at the heart of a modernist project that has been awarded the “Patrimoine du XXème” label, on its 800 m2 plot in a wooded park at the gateway to the Calanques. A project with character designed by the Marion Bernard architectural firm.

Before …

Target

Preserve the soul of this single-storey Californian villa, while renovating and enlarging it to adapt it to contemporary uses. Enhance its emblematic architecture and strengthen its link with the surrounding countryside.

Course of action

The renovation was carried out with a view to preserving the original architectural features, while adding modernity and comfort. The Fontvieille stone and hollow brick facade, sliding wooden shutters and low stone walls were carefully restored. Inside, the horizontal fireplace in brick and Cassis stone and the large terrazzo floor have been restored to their former glory.

Achievement

On the south side, the sleeping quarters are distributed on either side of the entrance hall by a corridor punctuated by typical 60s storage units.

To the north-west, the living areas are arranged in a row along the terraces, one of which is extended by a swimming pool in the shade of tall umbrella pines. Each extension of the house has been designed as a continuity towards the outside, with terraces allowing you to take full advantage of the surrounding nature. The living room, dining room and kitchen all open out onto the landscape, allowing for total immersion in the natural environment.

 

Partner brands :

Micro terrazzo and terrazzo : @varponcage
Tiles : @carre_creatif
Sanitary equipment : @richardson.officiel @trone_paris
Brazilian Quartzite worktop : @marbreriegambini_mattout
Woodwork: Rabot
Furniture and artwork : @axel_chay @relax_factory @piece.a.part @francois_bazin_studio @architectureceramique @archik
Painting : @ressource_peintures
Bed linen : @laservietteparis
Handles: @fredericpellenq
Travertine : @talka_decor

Original plans & project

Modernist architecture immersed in nature, close to sea and hills

LE QUARTIER

Private: Pointe-Rouge

At the gates of the Calanques, between Vieille Chapelle and Montredon.
  • Crédits photosJulie Fleutot
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A complete renovation carried out by ARCHIK and the architect Baptiste Legué (ABL) in a house from the beginning of the century, near Paris.

Target

To give back to this doll’s house where small volumes and numerous rooms follow one another, a more contemporary functionality by decompartmentalizing the spaces and revitalizing their layout.

Course of action

Expand the house to offer three distinct spaces: living area, master suite and children’s area, all on two levels, and focus on the outdoors with an extension of the living area facing the garden, opening onto a shaded terrace.

Achievement

Natural materials were used as the main thread of the renovation: Okoumé wood for the custom-made woodwork, natural and pink travertine in the bathroom and kitchen. The pink and beige tones of the whole project create an enveloping and soft atmosphere.

On the first floor, the staircase is moved and becomes an integrated element that creates a bench for the dining room. The open kitchen with island is the nerve center of this first level and is adorned with pink travertine. The day and night areas have been separated and Okoumé wood panels, some of which serve as doors and others as storage, mark this distinction. The master suite has a bathroom entirely made of travertine with a custom-made double sink.

Upstairs, two attic bedrooms each offer built-in storage and an office area. The relocated hopper allows the creation of a pleasant shower room with window, as well as an independent toilet. Two rooms in total look terracotta.

A family cocoon, warm and bucolic, turned towards the outside.

  • Crédits photosAgathe Tissier
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Before …

Sous une hauteur de plus de 5 mètres, cette pièce déploie ses volumes tout en courbes. Son parquet en hêtre, ses colonnes, sa bibliothèque sur mesure en pitchpin et sa mezzanine reprenant les codes d’une coque de bateau et donnent le la de cette belle partition architecturale. Baignée de lumière grâce à sa grande ouverture en forme de voile, elle ouvre sur le jardin intimiste et confortable, à la façon d’un jardin secret au calme absolu qui ne demande qu’à être investi. En retrait de l’espace de vie, s’aperçoit la vaste cuisine / salle à manger et un espace buanderie éclairés par la lumière du sol en verre du premier niveau.

Enfin, aux deux niveaux supérieurs se trouvent les espaces nuits avec cinq belles chambres dont une parentale, ponctuées par endroits de courbes et dont certaines se parent d’incrustations vitrées allégoriques comme signature de cette maison-bateau. Elles se partagent deux salles de bain et une salle d’eau.

Une œuvre architecturale hors norme à proximité de la vie parisienne.

Jacques-Émile Lecaron

Né à Paris en 1939, Jacques‑Émile Lecaron est un architecte français formé à l’École spéciale d’architecture, puis à Harvard, où il obtient un master en urbanisme. Influencé par des figures comme Frank Lloyd Wright, Buckminster Fuller ou Bruce Goff, il développe une approche originale mêlant architecture, poésie et imagination.

Installé à Clamart depuis les années 1970, il y conçoit une série de maisons singulières – telles que la Maison d’acier, l’Arche de Noé ou la Maison de la Belle au bois dormant – dont les formes colorées et narratives traduisent les rêves et les personnalités de leurs habitants. Il réalise aussi des aménagements urbains et œuvres publiques, en lien étroit avec leur environnement.

Lecaron se distingue par une architecture expressive, presque onirique, qui refuse les normes pour mieux raconter des histoires. À travers ses créations, il propose une autre manière d’habiter : plus libre, plus intime, et profondément humaine.

Complete renovation of an old townhouse orchestrated by JoBe Architecture and ARCHIK to create an open and friendly living space, turned towards natural light.

Target

At the bend of a steep alley in the heart of the typical Vauban district, an old townhouse evokes the Marseille of yesteryear. On this playground, the will of the renovation duo was to create an open living space, turned towards natural light and inviting to conviviality. For an art of living à la marseillaise.

Course of action

The intention was to give this townhouse, with its succession of small, narrow, dark rooms, a Mediterranean flair as well as a functionality suited to urban family life. To enlarge the house and offer an isolated and suspended parental space, an attic mezzanine was created above the living room. The new floor plan is distributed over 4 levels of living space, with an aerial staircase as a common thread.

Achievement

The interior charm of the house echoes the Mediterranean way of life, with its raw and mineral materials in warm tones and its sand-colored resin floor.

On the first floor, the objective was to create a functional and comfortable entry space for daily use. The concrete staircase, the backbone of the house, provides direct access to the living areas.

The second floor offers two bedrooms and a children’s playroom with artist’s frescoes, adorned with cream curly carpeting, as well as a pleasant bathroom in total terracotta look where a tiled niche welcomes the bathtub.

The heart of the house is discovered through a terracotta cloister. A large bay window in freijo wood opens the living room on the terrace and its pond, letting the sun fill the living room. On the other side, the open kitchen offers a terracotta tiled island and a recycled plastic worktop in beige tones.

The climb ends with the master suite. A beautiful attic room with its adjoining shower room entirely tiled with grey ceramic, including a white matte pedestal sink.

Outdoor

The outdoor space has been cleared and landscaped to bring together all the functions of an outdoor space in a small area. A pool, a dining area and masonry benches invite you to relax. In the background, planters give rhythm to the whole and break the verticality of this space located at the back of the house.

A stylish renovation with a singular character, inviting to conviviality.

  • Crédits photosFlorian Touzet
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Before …

This contemporary house is ideally located below the Bonne-Mère, on the heights of the 7th arrondissement of Marseille. With its precise horizontal architecture, this property has benefited from a beautiful illumination, revealed thanks to an ambitious approach.

Target

To completely rethink the decoration and layout of an architect’s house with an austere resonance. To change the location of the kitchen and give the whole a warmer vibe, more in line with the expectations of its owners.

Course of action

Reconnect the house to its environment and its exceptional location by accentuating the inside/outside effect. Use noble materials to give the house a unique character, where the luxury and elegance of clean lines would be the guiding principle.

Achievement

From the entrance, it was necessary to announce the change with a strong gesture, which brings warmth and life. A 6-metre-high steel structure was designed, around which tropical vegetation unfolds. The back wall of this majestic stairwell was clad in a noble wood, creating a chic and coherent picture between stone, wood, and vegetation. The master suite has been remodeled to take full advantage of the superb view.

For this first level, a cameo of pink and terracotta was chosen, echoing the tiles of the surrounding roofs.

On the main level, a play of perspectives was created by the transparency of the solid oak screens, in order to redefine the rooms. In the living room, the green wall extends onto the terrace for an inside/outside effect, with the Friuli Islands as a backdrop. The floor has been modified by applying a resin throughout, providing unity and a soft, soothing feel.

The kitchen has been moved so that it can communicate directly with the outside and once again become a convivial room, dedicated as much to entertaining as to contemplation. The cement tile patchwork wall gives it relief and picks up the colours of the whole project. The electrical equipment throughout the house was replaced with solid brass, adding a refined detail that is not to be overlooked. The furniture in each room was entirely made to measure or selected by Virginie & Rodolphe.

A precise and warm renovation, with subtle exotic details.

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Before…

Tournée vers le beau cèdre au milieu du jardin, l’extension parfaitement intégrée prolonge le plan en L autour du jardin, et abrite deux chambres, un salon, une salle d’eau et une buanderie.

Une dépendance brutaliste en béton banché fait face à la maison avec une composition sculpturale et linéaire. Aménagé en bureau, cet espace agréable avec son angle vitré ouvert sur un bassin de nénuphars, est également pensé dans les détails avec en bonus un ensemble d’étagères en bois en complément du béton brut et le sol habillé de carreaux d’ardoise.

Un grand garage, un carport et une cuisine extérieure complètent cet ensemble emblématique.

Une maison où langage puriste et brutaliste cohabitent.

Yves Salier

Yves Salier (1918-2013), né à Bègles, figure fondatrice de “L’école Bordelaise”, est l’un des fondateurs de la célèbre agence bordelaise Salier, Courtois, Lajus, Sadirac, pionnière de l’architecture moderne du XXe siècle.

Diplômé de l’école d’architecture de Bordeaux, il rejoint avec son camarade Adrien Courtois, son professeur Claude Ferret à Royan pour participer à la reconstruction de la ville, notamment avec l’îlot 50, le Palais des Congrès et la Villa Hélianthe.

De retour à Bordeaux en 1950, il cofonde l’agence Salier Courtois en 1955, influencé par le Bauhaus, Le Corbusier et l’architecture californienne. L’agence se distingue par ses maisons individuelles soignées et fonctionnelles.

Rejoints en 1964 par Lajus et Sadirac, ils élargissent leur champ à des projets majeurs comme la Villa Geneste sur le Bassin d’Arcachon, les jardins de Gambetta à Mériadeck, des logements collectifs et des édifices religieux.

Avec plusieurs projets labelisés « Patrimoine du XXe siècle » l’agence se construit une réputation nationale comme référence d’une alliance entre modernisme et les particularités de l’architecture régionale avec une attention particulière aux détails et à la matérialité.