The house was designed for a client suffering from a progressive and irreversible loss of sight that would lead him to see only vague shapes. At his request, the light had to be perfect, homogeneous and without glare.
Project Name: Maisons de Verre à Carantec
Studio Name: Studio Odile Decq
Entirely made of glass, the house is a box of natural light. The complete translucency of the walls, facades and roof, creates a singular phenomenon inside: a homogeneous and identical light at all points, an impression of cocoon, which isolates from the rest of the world.
White and black the house is an opalescent parallelepiped, tilted. It is perforated by two longitudinal volumes of black glass in which are installed the utilitarian functions of the house (bathrooms, storage, kitchen, etc.).
One enters the house through a sheltered patio that protects from the wind and from view, and one can still see the sky: it is a transitional space between exterior and interior.
From there, we access a double-height living space that hosts a living room, an open kitchen and a dining room. Two bedrooms – one of which is double height – complete the first floor.
On the first floor, accessible by a staircase made entirely of glass, there is a large bedroom and its bathroom.
Located in a suburban neighborhood at the entrance to the town of Carantec, the glass house is an unusual object, but its implementation takes into account the regulatory setbacks in relation to the separating limits, while providing a service area and additional parking nearby.
Particular care was taken in the landscaping of the site, in harmony with the plant species found on site: the existing hedges were completed; the parking lots at the entrance were hidden by hedges; fruit trees were planted.
MATERIAL
The walls are constructed of double panels of light-diffusing insulating “double glazing” (OKALUX K) between which the metal structural grid passes, becoming invisible. This glass material is perfectly insulating and offers many advantages: The textile pannels included in its cavity allows shadowless lighting, with daylight penetrating deeply into the spaces.
The result is a comfortable and homogeneous light atmosphere that offers the greatest comfort in the apprehension of interior spaces. Natural light is maximized while ensuring privacy. Only a few low transparent windows allow a close view on the garden.
These panels that give the house a milky white and translucent appearance also ensure perfect solar protection and a limitation against glare, their thermal insulation is excellent, thus helping to qualify the operation as high environmental quality.
LIGHTING
Particular care has been taken with artificial lighting. It has been designed to take up the homogeneity of natural day lighting. The approach was to think about the design of the lighting from an internal point of view, taking into account the life within the house and trying to make the space pleasant to live and practical.
The principle chosen was to elaborate a lighting system that is fixed to the roof structure. This is complemented by a series of peripheral spotlights aligned along the façade.
When night falls, the house lights up like a lantern, emitting a soft and diffuse light.