Page 86 - Designing Ways 257

Dining room

Alternating tread stairs
A House with a View

Sainte-Marie-de-Ré, France

n this house, the living space unveils through views that change
with the winds and tides, like a living and breathing postcard. The
Iproject emerges through these captured moments, where each
new architectural fragment prints and dances in its context.

Firmly anchored on the seaside, on a sandhill in the south of L'île de
Ré, this traditional house opens entirely onto the ocean. With a strong
setting, the challenge of this renovation was to create a new living
space using an ageing existing structure with incredible potential.

When the inside invites itself outside
The owners wanted to refurbish the house in order to make it more
suited to their way of life, more comfortable and, above all, adapted
to their tastes. The project was based on a complete renovation of the
house’s interior, and on a redefinition of the openings in the exterior
space.

The connection between inside and outside spaces forms the heart
of the project. It is one of the initial elements that changes how one
views the whole inhabited space. Indoor facilities were considered
to create new identities for these areas, as well as to build privileged
relationships with the outside. This work of sequencing is defined
and underlined by the implementation of wood, contrasting with
a mineral floor. These materials comprise the main thread between
different rooms in the house, and ensure continuity to the outdoors.
The house was conceived for a couple, but was also designed to be a
relaxing and pleasant setting for family visits. With that goal in mind,

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