Maison Sentinelle is located on a narrow, irregular piece of land at the edge of a block and at the entrance to the town of Audierne in Brittany. The house is named after Sentinelle, a fisherman who watches the sea from the heights of the port of Audierne.
In order to limit the impact of the building on the surrounding landscape, architect Aurélien Chen has chosen to fragment the house into three volumes, each of which follows and respects the alignment of the surrounding rural buildings.
The main volume, a barn-like wooden structure with a three-sided roof, rises two storeys high to offer a view of the ocean. Seen from its south side, the house echoes the traditional barn houses of the area, while the north side shows contemporary lines.
The different materials of the house reflect the colours of the Breton countryside: western red cedar for the cladding, mixed slate/zinc for the roofing, white walls and painted black wood
The project is not intended to be "an interpretation of the Breton house", but a response to a particular terrain and a heterogeneous urban fabric. A rhythmic architecture that offers a multiplicity of viewpoints, either gently interacting with the environment or contrasting it.
The functional layout is based on bioclimatic design principles and site conditions: the car park on the north side creates an acoustic and climatic screen, the main spaces face the ocean to the south, while the bedrooms face east.
In the interior the structural elements in laminated wood are left exposed, while the steel mesh on the stairs and walkways - the same used by local fishermen to catch tellinas in the bay of Audierne - creates transparencies that constantly change with the movement of the clouds.
- Project:
- Sentinel House
- Architects:
- Aurelien Chen
- Area:
- 170 sqm
- Location:
- Audierne, Brittany, France