Architecture studio Tectoniques has built a house from concrete dyed with ochre that emerges from the ground in Saint-Cyr-au-Mont-d’Or, France.

Called P House, the semi-hidden structure has a rough, rugged exterior designed to blend into the slope of the land.

Tectoniques fabricated the house from a specially developed concrete, created together with materials supplier Lafarge. It is made using coarse aggregate and less water than standard concrete.

In order to create a thick, imperfect end result, the concrete is vibrated – shaken to release air bubbles – manually.

Ochre dyes are added to white concrete. The designers created a sandy colour for the facade that echoes the hue of an existing 19th-century building on the site.

The new house has three distinct levels and functions as an inverted twin to the existing house.

“This is an idea that comes naturally from the geography of the site,” said architect Max Rolland.

“The street serves the plot from above and the part of the plot that can be used as a garden is located ten metres below.”

Special foundations and civil engineering work were used to position eight-metre-high piles, to retain the hill behind the wall.

The top of the house is level with the road and has space for parking.

It is the only part of the building that can be seen from the road, with the buried underground volume of the iceberg-style house much greater than the visible volumes.

“This apparent ‘disappearance’ is actually accompanied by a strong materiality,” said Tectoniques. “It is singular both in shape and texture.”

The large rectangular-shape rhomboid has been hollowed out from the hillsid,e with two planted terraces inserted into the intermediate levels.

From certain angles they appear to be level with the garden, but the main garden extends out from the ground floor of the house.

When entering the house from the road, visitors walk down an exterior staircase, followed by two internal ones.

These connect the road with the garden through a pathway that showcases all the floors of the building. The master bedroom, children’s bedrooms, living spaces and utilities are all on the lower levels.

“Without being sure of this feeling at first, we found that the descent of the three levels to access the living space is both gentle and soothing,” said Rolland.

“It is a mysterious house that slowly reveals itself. The entrance from the street reveals nothing of its existence nor its morphology.”

“It is the descent and use of the stairs that gradually reveal the architecture of the whole.”

Concrete was also used for the interior, where it is accompanied by oak timber woodwork and flooring, bleached spruce ceilings and crafted steel metalwork.

Large windows on the west facade and the pale wood and white walls give the house a light, open feel.

On the ground floor, asymmetric, open wooden shelves have been painted in a darker, contrasting colour, and sliding doors open directly onto the garden.

Creating a concrete house was a departure from the norm for Tectoniques, which specialises in timber solutions. But the client wanted a house made of concrete.

“Initially, we took this order as a casting error,” said Rolland.

“Therefore we directed our client towards colleagues more in line with this request, but he strongly insisted on working with our office.”

“So we took this exercise as a field of experimentation with research on a specific and unusual materiality of concrete.”

Tectoniques has previously designed a “bioclimatic house” with larch cladding in Lyon, and a wooden elementary school with sloping, plant-covered rooftops.

Photography is by Jérôme Ricolleau.

Project credits:

Architect: Tectoniques Architectes
Engineers: Tectoniques Ingénieurs
Landscaping: Sandrine Ligonnet
Masonry: SC Bat
Woodwork: Ferlay
Locksmith: Ceser
Electricity: Michel
HVAC: Loison
Swimming pool: RPC

The post Tectoniques sets ochre-coloured concrete house into French hillside appeared first on Dezeen.

Will this pandemic change society forever? I have my thoughts. I think we’ll be a lot more careful moving on into the future, being mindful of our own health as well as the health of others. I also think we’ll see more and more companies relook productivity as something that can be done from anywhere, rather than just an office, and I won’t be surprised if a couple of designers use this time to relook how to change human behavior to allow us to be social, but safe. Before this ramble turns into a rant of sorts, we dug through the design archives to find some products that seem to embrace good design, privacy-promoting practices, and social distancing. Some of them border on introvertism, but think of it as ways to help you stay connected with yourself, rather than with others! Let’s take a look at them!

Sit in the Capsule Chair by Kateryna Sokolova for PALAU and as your behind sinks into the cushion, you notice your peripheral vision getting narrowed. Its cocoon-esque design covers your sides and your top, blocking not just vision but also absorbing audio, leaving you in a tranquil bubble as you sleep, read, or work.

The GreenFrame by Johan Kauppi of Kauppi & Kauppi is a floor screen divider, plant pot holder and a lighting fixture, all in one. Comprising of a minimalist ash wood frame, the rectangular structure can hold up to three potted plants. LED lights line the ceiling of the frame. The illuminated frame functions not only as a light fixture but helps in nurturing and growing the plants indoors, especially during winters in areas with minimal daylight hours. The frame also serves as a splendid divider, creating privates spaces in bustling offices.

Foster + Partners has launched a chair with a tall enveloping form, to offer privacy to people working, helping them escape the bustle around them. Named the Cove Chair, the design is intended to function as a mini-office. Its generously curved form incorporates a wide, comfortable seat, an integrated USB charging point, an optional mains power supply, and a table, which can be used as an informal desk.

Designed to enhance the flexibility of the modern shared workspace, the Corner Office helps define personal space and create a sanctuary for concentration. Each unit can be placed on existing table layouts in a variety of positions to accommodate both large and small teams. They can be paired up or placed singularly in seconds, and will instantly provide visual privacy, sound reduction with soft felt, dimmable task lighting, and desktop power.

Made out of fiberglass and polyethylene foam, the Helmfon helmet by Hochu Rayu cuts out all outside disturbance, giving you your quiet zen, even in a buzzing workplace (Wall Street, take note). The shape of the Helmfon helps reflect away noise from around you, and its lightweight design means it can be worn easily, or even be suspended or wall-mounted. A portmanteau of the words Helmet and Phone, the Helmfon isn’t just a noise-canceling device, it’s also an elaborate pair of headphones. Equipped with a system board, microphone, speakers, accumulator, magnifier and space on the inside for a smartphone, the Helmfon enables wearers to watch videos, organize Skype conferences and even make calls from within the helmet.

Equipped with long side panels, a high back, and soft noise-insulating fabric, the Offline Chair is the perfect spot to find some privacy! Its cocoon-like structure and the optional roof that you can attach or detach according to your convenience make it even more of a safe haven! However, what really allows you to cut off from the world is the chair’s special “Offline Pocket”.  Simply slip your phone into the pocket, and it instantly blocks off Wifi and mobile signals. As long as your phone is enclosed in the pocket, you won’t be hearing it ring or beep anytime soon. Designed by Agata Novak, this chair physically ensures you stay online.

Note Design’s Focus divider is created for the brand Zilenzio and the panels come in several sizes. The larger size is suitable for the floor, surrounding an entire workstation, with smaller versions for tabletop usage. And the best part – it can be rolled up and stored in a backpack for today’s digital office workers who need more privacy.

When closed, the Alcove looks like any regular slim bag that’s carrying either your work files or your laptop. However, fold open the flaps and the Alcove turns into a portable workstation that gives you total privacy as you quickly get your work done on a plane, or in that Starbucks, or even in your office, to prevent your colleagues from prying into your workspace to see what you’re up to. Designed by Yared Akalou & Sergio Aleman Jr., Alcove is privacy made portable, giving you the power to turn your lap or any flat surface into an immediate no-disturbance work-zone.

The Relaxation Hoodie by Vollebak gives you the ability to switch off and recover, something we need more than ever – it’s when our bodies rebuild and our minds recharge. But we spend most of our lives plugged into tech and using downtime to push our limits. So the Relaxation Hoodie is like an isolation tank you take with you anywhere. It requires no tech and no effort. Just zip up and unplug from everything.

Featuring a solid wood frame, the Quiet Time (QT) Privacy Lounge Chair by Poppin consists of three ‘walls’ layered with foam and fiber for a fluffy, springy feel, promising to absorb all and every background noise, and creating a hidden oasis for you. The three ‘walls’ are actually two tufted surround pillows and one back pillow crafted to ensure that you’re comfort level is at its highest.

A YouTuber called The Q decided to make “invisible” wheels for his bicycle, by using (d’oh!) Plexiglas. While this is of course a terrible idea–aside from the added weight, Plexi doesn’t deal with stress very well–it was actually fun to watch him make it:

You’ll note that he’s only riding the bike on smooth, paved bicycle paths. How many curbs do you reckon a Plexi wheel would survive before cracking?

Available in three skin tones, Nuditone bandages offer more diversity in hue than the widely available versions. Rooted in the belief that “nude is a conceptual color that should suit all skin tones,” the Swedish brand makes light, medium and dark adhesive matte-finish bandages that come in packages of 20—with two sizes inside. There’s also a multipack edition that accounts for all three tones currently available.

The separation is an amicable one, with both designers ready to pursue personal projects under their own names. It comes after three decades of collaboration, which has seen Why Not Associates do everything from TV idents and motion graphics, to campaigns for the likes of Royal Mail, Nike, First Direct and the BBC.

CR readers might recall Why Not’s neon typography, its typographic artwork for Salford Lads’ Club, or its deSingel rebrand, but if not, they will almost certainly remember the Comedy Carpet collab with Gordon Young, which saw them make 160,000 letters out of solid granite.

The duo met while studying at the Royal College of Art and, according to Altmann, had never intended to set up a studio together. “One job led to another, and suddenly it was like ‘We better give ourselves a name and find a studio space’,” Altmann told CR.

Their first workspace was in Archer Street, in London’s Soho, and set up during a time when designers still relied on photocopiers and darkrooms. As CR wrote in a piece about the pair’s 30th birthday exhibition: “This was a practice built on experimentation and collaboration – with light and shadow, with technology, with materials, and often with photographer Rocco Redondo. A place where there was still room for the ‘happy accident’.”

Although Altmann says the pair never set out with grand ambitions – he describes their collaboration as “32 years of getting way with murder” – they’ve become a much-respected name in the design world, known for their irreverent, down-to-earth approach. The Why Not name will certainly be missed, however there’s still plenty to come.

Ellis will continue to work with Why Not clients, and Altmann has a book on the go – entitled Tat, and based on his collection of graphic ephemera.

“It’s something we’ve spoken about for the last few years,” he says, of Why Not’s closure. “There has to be an end point at some point for anything in life. We’re both 58 this year, and it sounds doom and gloom but, relatively speaking, you’ve not got that much time. It felt like a chance to do something different and something personal.

“It’s the end of an era in terms of Why Not and we’ve had so many amazing people who have worked here that have gone on to do amazing things. It’s mind blowing. We feel we’ve given people confidence to go and do it their own way and that’s probably going to be our biggest legacy.”

whynotassociates.com

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