Green Houses

In 2016, the Bordeaux metropolitan area launched the UrbaLab call for ideas ‘to find new ways of building the city through creativity’. The Patriarche agency, which won the competition, put this idea into practice at La Motte Servolex, taking charge of the design and construction of three greenhouse homes (four-bedroom) as part of a project led by Bart.

Augmented architecture was necessary to transform agricultural greenhouses into housing, with . Environmental and thermal engineers also ensured that the greenhouse would be a comfortable place to live all year round, with automatic sliding blinds and windows that open in response to changes in internal temperature.

This bioclimatic architecture provides an answer to the question of how to produce food in the city within one's own home. A ‘box within a box’ logic: a prefabricated wooden container is placed within the metal agricultural structure. Set back and sheltered from the temperate space, the intimate living area is nestled within a simple architectural structure that can be adapted to suit different uses, leaving the majority of the greenhouse floor space free. This space, which extends the living area, is also used to grow a generous and productive vegetable garden.

Environmental and thermal engineers also ensure that the greenhouse is a comfortable place to live all year round, with automatic sliding blinds and windows that open in response to changes in internal temperature.