Digital tends to exacerbate clichés on the issue of seasonal rental housing. Through what it is called “local architecture”, the goal, primarily commercial, is to create a unique "experience". Royan's Sky partly conveys this desire, but above all it explores the intrinsic qualities of a remarkable architecture, merging them into an ordinary everyday life.
The building was built in 1957 by the architect Roger Mialet for his client, the founder of the contemporary art festival of Royan. The construction hosted a large villa and a medical office, deployed on four level. As the original architecture was already designed for the realization of 2 dwellings, it has undergone minor modifications in terms of structure work. The structure is house is a mixed framework of columns and concrete beams, with non-load-bearing facades in part, and a central staircase serving as bracing.
If no structural element was affected, the interior organization was changed. It is about a complex plan of 2 dwellings and a gallery, to receive 2 groups of people separately or jointly. The accommodations then function as a large house, or as 2 independent apartments. Each owns large terraces and balconies, whose various orientations prevent any promiscuity. As a result, 16 people can pleasantly coexist, profiting of a perception of multiple spaces.
An archaeological investigation of existing networks (electricity, plumbing and ventilation), was preferable because of the variable configuration of the project. It enables to make sure that any spaces are connected to flows and networks. In the end, even if significant work has been done, the illusion of minimal intervention persists.
