Article Week 2 - Wood design and construction.

Article week 2 - Wood design and construction. Our vision of the detached house in Lège Cap Ferret and the Arcachon basin.

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In this second week of January, we have reworked on house concepts that we believe could respond to several issues. The construction of a house by an architect is, for the most part, an experiment, a framed adventure. This experimentation requires time, and today this notion of waiting and research necessary for any design is not more understood or rather wanted by customers. Is it a societal problem? Is it the architect's doing? The builder who doesn't sufficiently explain the time it takes to design and build well? Is it the customers who don't want to hear or don't want to wait?

Always it is to avoid dissatisfaction and frustration, even if the life of a construction site is not a long calm river (administrative procedures, deadlines supply, health crisis.) We decided to look at predefined architectural concepts. You could call it typical houses, but it goes further and it's not so easy to catalog.

As an architect, Dorothée has always been reluctant to design "typical" houses. She has always considered that a construction should be the result of reflection and research based on several parameters: Integration of the project into the environment, location and climatic conditions, proximity to neighbors and associated views, sunshine, overheating, humidity, inertia of the wall, use of the house and other parameters, but most often the programme/wish of the clients and the budget remain the important points.

Time necessary for the quality of execution on site. Indeed, when you design a project such as what we built this year on Cap-Ferret, being an experiment, the time of studies and achievements are longer. This involves the materials, the resulting building's thermal inertia, the context and the insertion into the site, finding suitable materials with competent industrialists, serious and respectful of its customers, qualified craftsmen, without forgetting the administrative procedures and appointments to convince the town halls. Likewise on site, the execution time is an important notion and the professional building tradesman may never have built projects of this type. This is out of the ordinary, generating costs and a longer execution time than a manufacturer's project.

To illustrate my point, let's take an example of the purchase of a vehicle from a manufacturer. You don't decide to design your car with a steel frame or with a specific alloy, you don't design a unique engine or you don't choose what foam the seat is going to be made of. This is the fruit of a reflection on the part of the design team and the engineers and above all the fruit of an important and quality field experience.

In this reflection we try to start from our experiences, our desires, observation and understanding that we make of our ways of life. We translate our feelings and the feedback from our customers into these concepts in order to improve your home and the relationship you have with it. So to respond to our approach and to the demand of customers, who hope to have their homes in July, we must be reactive and have assets and skills up our sleeve.

'Arcachon. A design that offers you several alternatives with materials that respect the planet (wooden frame in Landes pine, local terracotta, bio-source insulation made in France, a consistent carbon impact). An architecture different from what we usually see, but which integrates into its environment (with a dedicated and inseparable landscape component of the project in order to put nature back at the heart of our grounds) and offers living spaces open to the exterior and at the same time, withdrawal into oneself necessary for healing and calm. Vast program, you will tell me!!

It is now necessary to quantify these projects and concepts in order to tell you from the start what is going on. The deadline to ensure the quality of execution will be essential, and the pre-design and the preliminary study will allow us to ensure this commitment (apart from the global health crisis!!). The key word of these concepts will remain the quality of the materials with the respect of the land which allows us to manufacture them and also the respect of the men of the art who will allow us to implement them. If we carry out this program, we will be able to respect our first commitment, design for the well-being of the inhabitants and thus do our part in improving our world. We will talk to you about the projects and concepts again during the year.

In the meantime, if you have a project to build a villa, wooden house, or any major renovation, we will use our concepts and know-how to assist you in better. Design, building permits, project management are skills that we can bring to you in Lège-Cap Ferret, Arcachon and Le Pyla also thanks to the craftsmen with whom we collaborate on the other side of the Arcachon basin. Need an estimate on new wood construction, do not hesitate to use our costing tool.

Thank you for reading, follow us for news and see you soon !