reed + hemp
Location: CAMORS (56)
Project: Renovation of a private house
Scope: Full Architectural Service (Mission Complète)
Area: 174 m²
Planning Permission: 2013
Completion: February 2016
This project was all about rediscovering the old thatched longère, which over the years had been buried beneath a series of agricultural modifications — including raising the façade by five courses of breeze blocks, reducing the steep pitch of the original thatched roof, and allowing it to be re-roofed in the 1960s with corrugated asbestos–cement sheets.
Fortunately, in Brittany, good thatchers — though increasingly rare — do still exist.
Internally, to introduce a contemporary edge, the rebuilt first floor was constructed using a block-and-beam system with gently vaulted terracotta blocks left exposed. The careful dialogue between old and new continues in the stair, built in stone and finished with a steel balustrade.
The peripheral internal walls were treated with a 6 cm hemp–lime insulating coat, finished with a 2 cm lime render. This bio-based, vapour-open system preserves the building’s ability to regulate moisture while providing a meaningful level of thermal correction. Combined with its warm reed overcoat, it ensures that the house remains comfortable and economical to heat.
Heating and hot water are provided by an air-source heat pump, with underfloor heating set beneath limestone flooring
