Housing in the countryside "La Louvière"
The project is nestled in the hollow of a forest edge that borders the Route de la Louvière in Presinge. The land slopes toward the northwest. Access to the site is from the lower part of the plot, via an internal road that also serves a nursing home located upstream. The proposed massing is compact in order to allow views of the high-quality vegetated surroundings. Access to the apartments is via the private lane along which the ramp to the parking garage is located. The basement includes parking spaces, cellars, the civil defense shelter, and technical rooms.
The project proposes 12 apartments with 4 and 5 rooms, each with a corner loggia (allowing for double solar orientation), with the exception of two ground-floor units, one of which extends onto a terrace. Vertical circulation is provided by a naturally lit staircase, which creates distance between the two northern apartments and brings light into the center of the building.
Access to the apartments is through a generous hall that connects the day-time and night-time areas and provides access to a guest bathroom. The entrance to the living area is bright and opens onto a large space whose corner is formed by the loggia. The bedrooms have access to shared sanitary facilities, and the master bedroom benefits from a private bathroom.
In this highly poetic setting, the material approach to the building volume plays a very important role. The aim is to propose a simple expression, in symbiosis with the wooded landscape and in harmony with the Louvière nursing home. The façades are therefore designed in tinted concrete with large openings whose natural wood frames echo the forest surrounding the site.
The structural system is simple, made of reinforced concrete, with load-bearing exterior walls (basement and façades) and partition walls between apartments. The light interior partitions are made of plasterboard, providing acoustic insulation between the rooms.
