Ludovic Martial, principal of French architectural firm Planet Studio sent us photos of the Labahou project, a paper mill the architect converted into a contemporary loft for a total budget of 100,000€.
Completed in 2012, the 1,830 square foot residence is located in Anduze, a small city in the Gard department in southern France.
Conversion of a Paper Mill by Planet Studio:
“Genesis of the project
The owners have acquired all the premises of a former paper mill was in operation until the 90s, occupying an area of over 14 000 sq ft. Since the cessation of the activity, they remained abandoned or used as storage place , they had the will to revive the place.
The traditional typology of the Gard region, where the project is located , is the Cevennes farmhouse. The desire of the owners was quickly decide to radically settle with this predominant style to create a modern home, the building style lending itself perfectly.
The will was not only to create their homes on a portion of the surface , but especially to give back , to as, life in the entire site.
With a constrained budget, they opted for carrying out the work as and measuring means . The term goal is to create a real living, attending to the needs of a Protestant charity for people with spiritual problems, moral and material.
Housing
The first “difficulty” was to choose the location and boundaries of the residence: a surface of 3,200 sq ft on 14,000 available…
The choice is not so obvious, the premises were located between a busy road to the east (to facilitate transportation at the origin) and a hill to the west , due to the topography of the region, on the edge of the Cevennes. The owners have opted for the part which would require less heavy work, but the landlocked, have zero distant view , the part to the south-West of the whole.
The project
One of the wills was also to interpret the typology of the loft. In this project, the pieces are not all in the same volume as traditionally in a loft, but we had the will to create a link between all the parts however they are internal or external. This was made possible by the establishment of a piece that becomes the true center of the house.
It is connected to the garden, to the patio, to the rooms but also to the mezzanine and large living room with a large bay window. In developing the project, this piece could have been a simple corridor but was deliberately thought very spacious. Young children often look after the presence of parents and finally rarely playing in their room, one of the uses of this play was a game room. It was also thought that since from the living room, the look does not stop not on a cul-de-sac, but extends to the outside.
Outside, there is a semi- covered patio and a garden that was reworked in the style of Mediterranean gardens. A water source was discovered during construction, which allowed for a fountain, which adds the missing key to enjoy the beautiful days offered by the South in this idyllic setting.”
Photos by: Laurent Distel, Ludovic Martial
