the team at tectoniques architectes was commissioned by a private client to design a new home in saint-cyr-au-mont-d?or, france. with the client already owning an existing residence on the site, which dates back to the end of the 19th century, the brief called for a contemporary villa to be built next-door. the resulting P. house combines traditional construction techniques with a stepped volume that is anchored into the ground and appears to grow organically outwards into the surroundings. 

all images © jérôme ricolleau
 
 
in contrast to the existing house that was built level to the road, the new residence is stepped into the contours of the land. in doing this, tectoniques architectes creates a more natural, ?earth-like? intervention. this rooted appearance is accompanied by a strong materiality, resulting in an architectural expression that is singular in both shape and texture.
 
 
the geometry of the house is simple and raw, with no decorative element making it look as if it was a rock hewn from the ground. this austerity aims to accentuate the massively dense nature of the volume, which is formed as a large cuboid hollowed out with two terraces. 

 
 
the building is anchored into the ground and described by the architect as an ?iceberg? due to a buried underground volume that is actually larger than the visible volumes. this was achieved with special foundations and civil engineering work to position 8-metre high soldier piles to retain the hill behi...