The Recipe
Transformation of a pigsty in Chavornay
At the encounter point of a farm and a henhouse, leaning against the slope of an orchard, a rural area originally sheltering pigs is transformed into a place of retirement for the parents of a large family. The interior volume undergoes a purge, necessary to accommodate its new functions.
A liberal profession occupies the ground floor, while a parental refuge takes over the upper floor - an elevation whose open space is related to two opposite orientations which are equally rich in their context. The picturesque orchard to the east responds to the twilight of the sun setting over the barn roofs to the west, evoking Caspar David Friedrich's two paintings «Der Abenstern» & «Frau vor untergehender Sonne».
The circulation connects the spaces on the ground floor to the above storey by means of two non-overlapping wooden helicoidal staircases, amplifying the verticality of this distributive fault. A winding path through the tall grass leading to a wooden footbridge. This vernacular element particular to rural area completes the loop stroll.
Crafted by the marriage of the mineral (lime) and the vegetal (hemp), an insulating layer is directly applied to the existing facade, like an ointment caring for a wound. A participatory workshop brings together the craftsman, the client, and the architect, around the shaping of this new skin which is expressed as an honest and raw coating.
