LIGHTS, ACTION!

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Licence 1, 2nd Semester
April-June 2025
Coordinating Professor: Joanne Vajda

Within the framework of the Materiality and Constructive Cultures studio, this project involved designing a house for an artist with whom we were asked to collaborate. The site measured 27 × 11 meters and was to include a workshop of 80 m² and an exhibition room of 60 m². The assignment served as a pretext to experiment with various constructive techniques, particularly the use of wood, and to learn how to design efficiently and sustainably, in accordance with contemporary architectural standards. Themes such as accessibility, cost, and natural light were central to the development of the final proposal.

Designing a house for Elodie Chiper, a London-based scenographer, required spacious and well-organized rooms, generous ceiling heights, and above all, a play of contrast between light and darkness.

The main façade opens onto the street with large windows and a long bench-like platform, allowing pedestrians to glimpse inside her workshop and inviting them to enter. While the entrance hall and workshop are filled with light, the exhibition space is almost entirely dark, enabling experiments with artificial lighting and projection, as well as improved acoustics. At the center, a small room serving as her digital studio and library, lets her observe, like in a watchtower, every room, connecting the entrance, the garden, and the two main rooms, thus positioning the artist at the heart of her creative environment.

The courtyard becomes, at night, a projection space where visitors can view the artist’s creations.

A system of movable panels creates a modular space in the exhibition room, allowing the artist to adapt the layout according to the requirements of each exhibition.

A wooden post-and-beam structure is anchored to the ground through screw piles, slightly elevating the house and freeing the terrain beneath it.

Water management was a major consideration in this project. The first half of the roof directs rainwater into a circuit supplying the restroom, while the second half channels it toward a basin in the courtyard.