Petit Bayle
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Vernacular materials and elements create a pragmatic aesthetic particular to place
Tim Crocker Download Original
Ecological minded house built on a steeply sloping greenfield site in south-west France
The house is expressed in two distinct parts, a rubble limestone base containing a bedroom, pottery studio, shower and utility rooms, below the main living and bedroom spaces enclosed in a chestnut clad timber frame.
The inflecting timber forms of the upper level are intended to respond to the approach, landscape and surrounding views.
Designed to be robust and low tech, the house is highly insulated and utilises the potential for passive heating and cooling, avoiding the need for air conditioning or mechanical ventilation. The house incorporates: solar thermal panels for domestic hot water; rainwater harvesting for flushing toilets and irrigation; a green roof; and uses locally sourced materials and labour.
Data
- Begun: Feb 2007
- Completed: 2008
- Floor area: 265m2
- Sector: House
- Total cost: £237,000
- Procurement: signed Devi (priced bill of quantities)
- Address: Petit Bayle, Tarn et Garonne, 82, France
Professional Team 
- Architect: MELD
- Project architects: Jef Smith, Vicky Thornton
- Client: Private
- Structural engineer: Arup
- Main contractor: Arpose le Grand
Suppliers
- Windows : Duforet
- Solar heating: Sarl Bedouret