Plouër-sur-Rance House
Located on the banks of the Rance river, this extension project aims to establish openness to the outdoors.
Through the complete renovation of the existing house and the addition of an extension, we aim to establish a new dialogue between the building and its surroundings.
The extension becomes a pretext for reaffirming the qualities of this vernacular architecture. By working with openings, materials, and light, we reveal these existing architectural qualities.
The use of familiar, natural materials such as wood and local stone in the existing house positions the starting point of our design process. The gable end, a fundamental element of rustic, rural breton architecture, retains its integrity.
In contrast, the extension reflects the evolving lifestyle of its inhabitants.
Organisation
The floor plan expresses this motive of openness. The extension unfolds at the heart of the garden, to the north of the existing house.
The imposing existing stone wall is pierced to create a new connection between the house and the extension with a circular concrete column that marks this threshold.
The kitchen becomes the main living space of the home, accessed through the living room–library.
Connection to the outside
The former stone house was embedded into the topography of this site along the Rance river.
Windows were oriented along the north and south façades. A large window on the ground floor of the west gable had been added by the previous owners.
This house, much like the reserved and introverted breton culture, was curled in on itself and turned its back on the garden.
The proposed extension responds to the residents’ desire for openness and reconnection with the outdoors.
Materiality
The project relies on the use of raw materials to express its rationality. All existing stone walls were stripped back. A lime–hemp render, applied inside and out, enhances comfort and ensures the breathability of the envelope.
The existing joists were preserved and reinforced. Made of pitch pine, a wood commonly used in 19th-century shipbuilding, they echo the maritime past of this former fisherman’s house. The new staircase, library, and extension introduce a sense of lightness in contrast with the heaviness of the existing masonry.
The circular column, beam, and exposed concrete plinth continue the heavy tectonic expression of the original house.
The poured floor, shared by both the extension and the existing building, unifies the ground floor into a coherent whole.
