House in Bordeaux
Bordeaux, France · 1999
Photo · Philippe Ruault
A precedent for low-cost, high-spatial-quality residential design using industrial corrugated metal cladding and large-scale sliding glass doors to maximize light and garden integration.
- What we like about this project
- The contrast between the pristine, reflective corrugated metal facade and the rough, decaying plaster of the flanking historic party walls.
Materials
- corrugated-metal
- glass
- aluminum
- concrete
Visual identifiers
- corrugated-metal-facade
- gabled-roofline
- sliding-glass-doors
- courtyard-house
- indoor-outdoor-living
Style tags
- pragmatic
- industrial-chic
- minimalist
- high-tech
Visual tags
- residential
- low-cost-materials
- industrial-aesthetic
- infill-housing
- transparency
- operable-facade
- Geometry
- Symmetrical gabled profile with a clear horizontal division into two levels. The upper level features a continuous band of sliding glass doors set within a corrugated metal field, while the lower level is fully glazed and openable, supported by a central column.
- Facade system
- Corrugated aluminum rainscreen on the upper level with integrated sliding aluminum-framed glazing units.
- Structural guess
- Steel or concrete frame with a central column supporting the upper floor slab and roof truss.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story domestic scale, with wide-span openings that maximize the feeling of interior volume.
- Lighting
- Bright, diffused daylight reflecting off the corrugated aluminum cladding, with deep shadows revealing the interior spaces behind the glass.
- Atmosphere
- An informal, light-filled domestic sanctuary that balances industrial utility with lush garden living.
- Environmental context
- Squeezed between two existing weathered masonry party walls in an urban courtyard setting.
- Spatial experience
- The ground floor dissolves almost entirely into the garden, creating a seamless indoor-outdoor transition, while the upper level provides a framed, elevated view of the courtyard through sliding glass panels.
- Composition rhythm
- Strict bilateral symmetry of the gable is balanced by the informal, asymmetrical arrangement of furniture and plants visible inside.
- Style reading
- High-tech pragmatism / French minimal-industrial
- Program
- Single-family residence
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- corrugated-metal, glass, aluminum, concrete
- Visual identifiers
- corrugated-metal-facade, gabled-roofline, sliding-glass-doors, courtyard-house, indoor-outdoor-living
- Style tags
- pragmatic, industrial-chic, minimalist, high-tech
- Visual tags
- residential, low-cost-materials, industrial-aesthetic, infill-housing, transparency, operable-facade
- Geometry
- Symmetrical gabled profile with a clear horizontal division into two levels. The upper level features a continuous band of sliding glass doors set within a corrugated metal field, while the lower level is fully glazed and openable, supported by a central column.
- Facade system
- Corrugated aluminum rainscreen on the upper level with integrated sliding aluminum-framed glazing units.
- Structural guess
- Steel or concrete frame with a central column supporting the upper floor slab and roof truss.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story domestic scale, with wide-span openings that maximize the feeling of interior volume.
- Lighting
- Bright, diffused daylight reflecting off the corrugated aluminum cladding, with deep shadows revealing the interior spaces behind the glass.
- Atmosphere
- An informal, light-filled domestic sanctuary that balances industrial utility with lush garden living.
- Environmental context
- Squeezed between two existing weathered masonry party walls in an urban courtyard setting.
- Spatial experience
- The ground floor dissolves almost entirely into the garden, creating a seamless indoor-outdoor transition, while the upper level provides a framed, elevated view of the courtyard through sliding glass panels.
- Composition rhythm
- Strict bilateral symmetry of the gable is balanced by the informal, asymmetrical arrangement of furniture and plants visible inside.
- Style reading
- High-tech pragmatism / French minimal-industrial
- Program
- Single-family residence
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture