Extension & Reconversion of an Old Farm / Martin Migeon Architecture + Anouk Migeon

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Text description provided by the architects.Located in a small hamlet in Charentes-Maritimes (FR) overseeing the Gironde estuary, an existing barn is transformed into a holiday house. The project is conceived as a sequence of differentiated volumes each with its orientation and distinct characteristics.The second gesture is to remove a roof between two of the existing volumes to create a patio. This new outdoor space, directly linked to the terrace of the extension, is well protected from the wind allowing for an alternative atmosphere and use. These two operations result in a project made of juxtapositions of volumes, circulation, usages, and materials. Exposed concrete frames are poured on-site to create large openings as well as to reinforce the walls.The project initiates a new dialogue between old and new, generating curious collages of raw materials, volumes, roofs, and geometries. Multiple openings allow for outdoor and indoor spaces to interlace through various routes to use every day. In the winter, the wood stove burns quietly and one can unwind by observing the water in the distance. In the summer, all windows are open, and fresh air as well as family members circulate throughout fluidly, moving around old stones and new elements, between the shelter and the landscape.The new extension develops its material character through a juxtaposition of three elements: a largely closed timber facade on the street side; an exposed concrete portico with three posts and a beam; and a monumental colonnade made of five round polished concrete columns, on which is stacked the timber roof structure that defines the shape of the volume.The first gesture is to propose an extension widely open onto the estuary. The pre-existing buildings were initially organized around a shared courtyard with the neighbors to meet the needs of agriculture and animal rearing, thus ignoring the view. The extension hosts the main collective spaces for the family (kitchen, living and dining area, wood stove) and gives access to a large covered terrace.