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 …

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…

This villa designed by architect Alain Richard in 2007 has a 100 m2 roof terrace offering an exceptional panorama of the sea and the hills of Les Goudes.

Target

Develop this unused roof terrace. Largely dominated by its direct relationship with the sky, and the minerality of its context, the layout of the roof must blend into the decor.

Course of action

Work on the question of the limit and allow this new roof terrace to integrate elegantly and discreetly into its environment.

Achievement

The aesthetic choice was to work with light furniture, whose colors and materials are reminiscent of the immediate environment, or make nods to the imagination evoked by the place (boat, port, forts, etc.). The garden lounge and the dining area are the two strong, structuring elements, around which the color is brought by the small furniture, the decoration and the vegetation. Strict and direct forms are mixed with softer ones, to bring a touch of harmony and softness to the whole. The layout of the terrace contrasts with the brutality of its landscape. One serves the other for more lightness.

The outdoor design was realized in partnership with Good Design Store, for the supply of furniture (Fermob, Houe, Gervasoni, Petite Friture, Serax), Basset Diffusion Aubagne nursery for the plants (olive tree, phormium, dasylirion, cycas, etc).

A roof terrace where the owners now enjoy spending quality time!

LE QUARTIER

Private: Les Goudes

At the gates of the calanques, this district is in osmosis with nature.
  • Crédits photosFranKc Orsoni
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Before …

Sur la restanque supérieure, la maison d’invités de 84 m2 se compose d’un séjour chaleureux avec cheminée et d’une cuisine ouverte prolongée d’une terrasse à la vue contemplative. Une chambre intimiste avec vue mer et une salle d’eau offrent un espace indépendant et accueillant pouvant être relié si on le souhaite, à la maison principale.

Dehors, l’art de vivre du Sud se révèle dans chaque détail : essences locales, arbres fruitiers, terrain de pétanque, et piscine traditionnelle s’intègrent naturellement dans le décor.
Enfin, un vaste garage, une cave à vin, un car port ainsi qu’une vaste buanderie extérieure, complètent ce bien familial confortable.

Un bien rare, empreint de l’âme provençale, intégré dans le paysage.

Maurice Sauzet

Né en 1927, Maurice Sauzet est un architecte et penseur à l’origine de l’Architecture Naturelle, un concept prônant le mariage heureux entre l’intérieur et l’extérieur, permettant à l’Homme de tisser des liens avec son milieu.

C’est au Japon où il s’affirme au côté de Junzo Nishizawa, architecte japonais formé par Le Corbusier. Profondément marqué par son séjour au pays du soleil levant, il cherchera à retrouver les effets sensibles et émotionnels des espaces nippons dans ses architectures. Son concept d’Architecture Naturelle mêle brillamment bâtiment et nature, créant des espaces au grès des reliefs ou des vues, et repensant l’habitat avec jardins entrants et pièces sortantes, pour une cohabitation totale avec l’environnement.