corten + cypress

Location: CORALY (22)
Project: Renovation of a private house
Scope: Full Architectural Service (Mission Complète)
Area: 164 m²
Planning Permission: 2020
Completion: 2022

An extensive renovation project located in the beautiful, gently rolling landscape of central Brittany. Whilst reinstating the original character of the traditional bréton stone cottage, the adjoining barn was integrated into the accommodation, providing a large double height living room which houses a corten steel spiral stair.

Within the main house, the downstairs open plan kitchen and dining are zonally modulated by the new timber first floor structure, which loosely delineates the different spaces.

Restoration and Thermal Performance
Layers of unsuitable materials added over the past century – when traditional methods of construction were forgotten – where carefully peeled back to reveal some beautiful stonework which was allowed to live and breath again.
A thick lime-hemp render was applied internally to the principal façade, providing a significant thermal correction while allowing the natural curvature of the irregular walls to be maintained. The other external walls benefit from higher levels of insulation, enabling the heating system—an air-source heat pump with underfloor heating, delivered through a simple polished concrete floor—to operate efficiently.


Opening to the Landscape
Extensive external excavations enabled the rear of the property to be opened to the outside, creating a series of stepped terraces and allowing natural light to flood in. The edges of the west facing terraces and steps are formed in folded corten plate steel.

Sliding shutters of cypress wood set within metal frames give the property a contemporary feel whilst ensuring that the traditional charm is preserved.