This barn extension in the Pyrénées Mountains has a gorgeous green roof that minimizes its impact on an incredible site overlooking the Adour de Lesponne river valley in France. When the client commissioned PPA Architects to extend the original stone barn building that once stood alone on this enviable pastureland, they made it clear that the existing site and vernacular architecture had to be preserved at all costs. So the firm tucked the new holiday home into the side of the slope and gave it a deceptive log facade wrapped in steel, ensuring that the extension is barely visible from afar.
The new extension consists of a guest room, a multi purpose room, a utility area, and a garage. Typical of the architecture in this historical agricultural region, it is nestled into the side of the slope for both insulation and fiscal purposes. Because it retains the earth above it, the building extension requires very few addition building materials except a concrete roof, a dry stone rear elevation wall, and the industrial steel in which the logs are stored.
This storage area is quite deceptive. From afar, it would seem like that is all that happening on this small plot, but the home actually boasts a very spacious interior that is naturally lit from above. The original barn retains its superiority on the site and the owners have a lovely rustic holiday retreat that completely respects its natural and historical context. Our only question: when do we get to visit?
+ PPA Architects
Via Arch Daily
Whoop D Do!