MODERN VILLAS IN THE ARCACHON BASIN

After the epic of the Arcachon women of the Belle Époque and following the Le Corbusier's achievements, the Arcachon Basin has managed to absorb a intense development up to the borders of Cap Ferret and the peninsula of ten villages. The pine resources of the Landes, the reinterpretation of heritage of the model of the fisherman's hut and the preservation of shaded alleys there have forged a unique landscape. With a marked predilection in favor of individual housing, the territory has continued to welcome villas architects who designed its current appearance: houses facing the horizon and sheltered from view – with extensive use of natural materials – have been a hit. Torn between a search for comfort and a concern for preservation of the natural environment, creators – famous or unknown – have competed in ingenuity to fit into a grandiose territory and nevertheless fragile. From the Bordeaux team Salier Lajus Courtois Sadirac to the architect Raphaëlle Hondelatte, not forgetting designer Philippe Starck, all have invented an art of living, through a flexible architecture, permeable to the environment and its changes, which have contributed to making known and loving a territory, by renewing the face of the Basin, while erecting it as preserved land. Using unique iconography, this work relates the epic of these achievements which, protean, have in common the quest for a symbiosis with the landscape. It invites the reader to understand the site and the territory, as to see the design and the intimacy of the daily life of this architecture. From minimalism to plastic trends, including model homes, as well as research into sustainable architecture, this book examines the different trends that have driven research architectural style specific to this exceptional territory. Design, layout, decor interior, materials are examined using archival documents, as in contemporary photography reports.