Second life
The initial renovation project for this pavilion aimed to make it passive; it ultimately went further, offering it a new architecture—almost a second life. In Magny-les-Hameaux, in the Yvelines, the house blended quietly into a street composed of identical dwellings: light-rendered houses with double-pitched red tile roofs, aligned along their fences. To give this house character within such a uniform setting, the project subtly departs from local planning regulations (PLU), shifting from standardized architecture to a singular model. This update grants it a unique identity, lifting it out of the anonymity it once inhabited. A clearer distinction between the north and south reconnects the house to its environment: on the street side, the addition of a canopy to the main façade now shelters the entrance; on the garden side, a generous opening in the roof offers the bedrooms a panoramic view of the plot. The usual vocabulary of suburban housing disappears in favor of a deliberately contemporary style. Decorative elements such as striped exterior awnings and wooden shutters are abandoned in favor of smooth façades in white and anthracite tones, while neatly trimmed hedges give way to an unusual wooden fence. The roof also trades its tiles for zinc, and the two dormers are simplified. The internal layout remains largely unchanged, apart from a slight redistribution of the four upstairs bedrooms. In a low-tech approach, and for a “duvet effect,” the pavilion is wrapped in new external insulation which, combined with bioclimatic design, makes it highly energy-efficient. As a pilot experiment in this field, the house received in 2012 the first Passivhaus certification in France for the renovation of a single-family home, and aims to serve as an example for those wishing to breathe new life into the ever-repeated suburban house model.
See the client’s blog with everyday update about the house’s performances : https://www.renopassive.fr/
See the press review :
