Bridge House

While most people tend to buy plots on top of hills, this client acquired a valley, offering us the opportunity to nest in its depths, linking its two very different sides by an inhabited bridge that creates and shades the living spaces on either side of the river.
The inhabited bridge is an archaic typology dating back to a time where bridge engineers and architects were one and the same. Only a few examples remain today.
A project in a valley gave us occasion to revisit this typology.
The central hollow of the valley, where a narrow river flows, is the most desirable place to live. By bridging this hollow, with a structure housing the bedrooms, we were able to shade and define the valley, to create the main living space. We were also able to bridge the difference between the two sides of the valley, one of which is shaded and humid, the other, sunny and dry, which we further emphasized by the vegetation we planted. Conceived as a bridge, the house permits us to use the best part of the site without destroying it.