To discover the Hortus project, the journey is on foot and first requires us to detach ourselves from the outside world. The construction takes place in a secret garden in the center of Bordeaux, hidden behind UNESCO-listed stone facades. Access is through the experience of a long dirt path that encourages movement and shapes the intensity of our steps. The further we advance, the more we discover, and the greater the astonishment grows.
The radical abstraction of the flat surfaces facing us contrasts with the porosity of their materiality. These openwork wooden walls exacerbate the ambiguity between interiority and exteriority. They evoke the experience of verticality, gravity, and distortion of the body. No windows or doors; we move from outside to inside by traversing the gaps carved between the masses.
We explore the meeting of a primitive archaic imagination and a contemporary vocabulary. It’s a building that exists in continuity with its time but possesses the quality of memory that surpasses and traverses us. Technological expression is reduced to a minimum, making it almost imperceptible.
The dwelling questions two contradictory desires: to rediscover the pleasure of wandering in its garden, and to shield oneself from a strong peripheral urban context. These two ambitions unite and coexist to enhance the sublime event born from this privileged encounter between city life and the experience of lush nature.
Amidst the proliferating vegetation, the contrast of the simplicity and purity of the interiors remains. The house is divided into three main volumes connected by a low gallery. Each volume has a core that gathers all the serving functions of the house. Freed from these constraints, the living spaces can expand limitlessly around them, portraying a daily life free from clutter and excess.
It’s a secluded place synonymous with retreat and mystery. It lays the groundwork for a dreamlike realm conducive to contemplation. The environment celebrates simple pleasures and intensifies the experience of basic daily necessities. It’s an autonomous interface that transitions us from a state of vigilance to one of rest and dreaming.
It’s only through the passage of time and gradual adaptation, as birds begin to sing, plants change color with the seasons, and clouds drift across the sky, that the place reminds us it belongs to the world.
Category:Private HomesLocation:Bordeaux, FranceArchitect: Theo Domini, FranceDesign Team: THEO DOMINI ARCHITECTE3D Render:THEO DOMINI ARCHITECTE
