On the outskirt of Hunspach, one of the most beautiful villages of France, a delicate project, respectful of the landscape, hand outstretched towards nature and the surrounding fields. Simple and contemporary gesture, refined and clean style, with a massive use of local wood (structure, woodwork, siding, decking), it testifies of a community that cares about enrolling into the future with respect and enthusiasm. Its timeless aesthetic ensures sustainability beyond fashions and ensures a positive image for this village entrance. Tense lines and horizontality create a new stand to the hilly landscape of the surroundings and the distant landscape of the foothills of the Regional Park of the Northern Vosges. With its wide transparencies through full height windows the inside/outside limit vanishes between the main hall and the landscape. This continuity is also achieved with the large outdoor terrace, devoted to dancing evenings on summer nights, accessible through the large sliding-doors (4 m wide). This sheltered terrace opens onto the fields and is organized around a central void, shaded by vines. This contemporary reinterpretation of the vernacular farmhouse courtyards will become, within a few years, a magic interstice to dance under the stars.
The building rests on a raised concrete slab. The main room consists of a half cross-bar wood structure resting on a concrete block (acting as a bracing element for the whole building), sheltering all the technical rooms (kitchen, storage, dressing rooms, etc). Wood joists support roofing panels and insulation/watertightness complex. The 800sqm covered terrace is entirely made of local solid wood. The main hall is covered with a oak “on the edge” floor and a large wall made of acoustic wood panels. This project has a strong environmental approach by the massive use of local materials and skills embedded in an area, the Regional Park of the Northern Vosges. It oscillates between hardiness and contemporary, but also between the simplicity of its refinement, its details and the generosity of its relation to the landscape. This ambivalence creates an interesting "picturesque vs modern" kind of relationship. A new sobriety. Minimum, not minimal...
