The Costil
Sap-en-Auge, France
2022

* Title: The Costil

* Address: Sap-en-Auge, France

* Year of construction: 2022

* Thematic focus: Renovate and build with local natural materials

* Project text: With “Le Costil”, in Normandy (France), Anatomies d’Architecture proposes to approach ecological construction through a unique experimentation. The renovation of an 83m² traditional brick house (or “longère”) with unprecedented ambitions : 0% concrete, 0% plastic, and 100% natural materials from within a radius of less than 100 km.

01 Why is the project particularly relevant for PIONIRA?

This project tries to be a demonstration of how to build with only very local natural materials, within a radius of less than 100km. This project explores how to recontextualize the act of building or renovate our homes and reconnect our habitat to its territory, taking into account its particularities and ressources in the ame to provide an architectural response to the ecological challenges of the anthropocene epoch.

02 What have you learned from the project? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you solve them?

We learned to take the time to explore the territory of the project and to meet the humans that build and transform the natural ressources into construction materials. We learned how complicated the cycle of production of industrial materials is complicated and how hard it is to build with only natural local materials. It is a lot of time and energy. It is also accepting to have impasses : the windows, the electricity and plumbery network, the roof are very difficult parts where to avoid plastic or metal. A challenge was also to find only local builders with the knowledge of ancient technics, sometimes we had to find workers from other regions. 

03 What advice could you provide, based on the project?

Investigate the territory of your projects, and discover the humans and ressources that you have around. It takes more time, but you will learn so much and your project will be full of good energy, meeting new people, and this is   how architecture can be fascinating and interesting. 

04 How would you like to build in the future?

I would like to renovate and not build, this is the first thing. i would like to continue to renovate with natural and local materials but also to work for any kind of clients and have real social aspect in my work. Offer confortable natural habitat to people with low budget would be a beautiful ame, like the Enerterre Association does for exemple.

Name: The Costil
Location: Sap-en-Auge, France
Text and images by: Anatomie d'Architecture
Type: Places
 
Posted: July 2024
Categories: architect, localism, raw materials, reuse, France

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