Three timber-clad volumes form one private compound on a sloping plot in Lacanau Océan, on France‘s Atlantic coast. The studio BAL designed this atlantic coast house so the buildings shelter each other from wind and weather, frame views of the ocean about 200 metres away, and keep neighbours at a distance.
The layout also makes this house look smaller than it is. It contains six bedrooms across 300 square metres. The rhomboid plot covers only 500 square metres, yet it still holds a pool, a playhouse, cycle storage and off-street parking. The planting uses local species.
How the three volumes fit together
The buildings sit at angles to one another. That arrangement leaves gaps, glimpses of garden and sightlines between each structure. Visitors move through the site along paths that feel like hidden routes.
The three structures connect at basement level. A separate link at ground floor, next to the entrance, joins them above ground. Below, the nearest building holds a games room and home cinema. Tunnels run from there to two bunkrooms in the neighbouring volume and to a hammam, a surf workshop and a cellar in the third.
Timber cladding also weathers well in cooler, wooded settings, as a charred-cedar retreat shows. Charred Cedar Vermont Home With Panoramic Views is worth a click for its dark timber surfaces and forest setting.
Living spaces across the compound
The main living and dining room sits above the basement games room and leads to a sleeping level. The furthest structure, across the terracotta-paved upper terrace, contains a double-height living space. Large sliding glass doors open both spaces fully to the outdoors.
A staircase in this living area drops to the basement through a planted courtyard.
A cascade of terracotta-clad steps descends to the pool. The stepped form turns a change in level into a feature of the garden.
Tiles, timber and a tobacco-shed reference
The architects had 30,000 terracotta tiles made locally for the project. The tiles match the sandy soil of the garden. They run indoors and outdoors in a herringbone pattern, which ties the floors, walls and paving into one surface.
Each of the three buildings shares a similar form. Their Douglas fir cladding is cut at angles that echo the tile pattern. BAL points to the region’s historic tobacco-drying sheds as the reference for the project’s quasi-industrial character.
The walls use lime-hemp and plant-based wool insulation. The concrete is low-carbon certified. Rainwater is collected for reuse. Every room has solar shading and air circulators.
For another home that answers its shoreline with restraint, see Zihuatanejo’s Casa Malonic on the Mexican Coast, which pairs minimalist architecture with a wide coastal horizon.
The first structure has an extra floor with two more bedrooms. The region gets hot in summer and often windy. The design aims to keep this coastal house comfortable in every season. The openings also let the sound of the ocean reach the interior.
About the studio
Thomas Sabatier, Thomas Cestia and Jeanne Mauvezin founded BAL in Bordeaux in 2015. All three trained at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Versailles. They worked on projects around Paris and Bordeaux before joining forces on the refurbishment of the Hôtel Splendid in Dax.
The studio’s name, Bureau des Architectures Libres, signals a commitment to freedom of design. BAL describes a “love of beautiful things, a taste for bespoke environments and unique projects, whatever the scale”. That range runs from a small coloured chamfer on a stair tread to the major refurbishment of a listed building.
Lacanau Océan shows that approach at work. This atlantic coast house design trades a single block for a set of linked rooms, and each one answers the coast a little differently.
Source: wallpaper.com
Frequently asked questions
How many bedrooms does the Lacanau Océan house have?
The house contains six bedrooms across 300 square metres. Its layout makes the house look smaller than it actually is.
Which studio designed the Lacanau Océan house on France’s Atlantic coast?
The studio BAL designed the house. It is made of three timber-clad volumes forming one private compound on a sloping plot in Lacanau Océan.
How are the three buildings in the compound connected?
The three structures connect at basement level, and a separate link at ground floor, next to the entrance, joins them above ground. Tunnels also run from the basement games room to two bunkrooms and other spaces in the neighbouring volumes.
How many terracotta tiles were used in the Lacanau Océan house?
The architects had 30,000 terracotta tiles made locally for the project. The tiles match the sandy soil of the garden and run indoors and outdoors in a herringbone pattern.
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