In the « T » family, the father loves doing DIY in his workshop, the mother has to work from home sometimes and each of the 3 kids plays an instrument which requires a room adapted to practice every day. This is a tribe in the image of a Happy families’s game where each member enriches the program of the project.

 

Following the recent acquisition of land in Caen near the city center and its shops, the owners have decided to build a big house that can accommodate the whole family and also friends who come for few days. The house also has to offer spaces dedicated to the specific activities of each member of the family.

 

The project had to be simple, large, economic and had to benefit of a large terrace accessible from the maximum of the living areas.

 

Despite a rather generously sized land, the local urban regulation imposes a strict implementation on the plot. It is through a rereading and a reinterpretation of it that we could design a project in line with its site while providing maximum sunshine to the house.

 

The house is divided into two volumes that give the feeling that it was split in two. The smallest volume contains the technical spaces with the workshop and the activity rooms. The second volume, bigger, welcomes the rest of the program (living areas, master suite and a level dedicated to the children).

The two volumes are connected by the circulation in a glass volume completely open on its site, marking the entrance of the house and giving the direction to the outdoor terrace.

 

The owners aware of their low budget, the cost of materials and the execution time wished to build the whole house with a steel frame in order to reduce assembly time at the construction site.