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March 2019

Fabien Mauduit & Véronique Hours

  • Living and thinking architecture together
  • As the A.P.ARTS collective they practise people-centred architecture adapted to usages and open to the world. Meet the winners of the ArchiCOTE 2018 Less Is More Prize.

 

 

 
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 Véronique Hours & Fabien Mauduit dans la maison du Pélavé.

As the A.P.ARTS collective they practise people-centred architecture adapted to usages and open to the world. Meet the winners of the ArchiCOTE 2018 Less Is More Prize.

Tell us about how you met and the A.P.ARTS mindset.
Véronique Hours: We met in 2004 in the Paris practice of architect and engineer Marc Mimram; we'd just completed our studies, me in Montreal and Paris, Fabien in Montpellier and Rotterdam. Four years later we set up A.P.ARTS, which stands for Architecture, Paysages [Landscape] and ARTS, our idea being to work in very close collaboration with professionals in diverse fields corresponding to each project's requirements.
Fabien Mauduit: To keep our minds open we also do research, which is how our exhibition on contemporary Japanese homes came about. It's been travelling around Europe for five years now, has visited Japan and will soon be at Yale University until 4 May.

What did you want to say in your Japan exhibition?
FM: That it's enriching to discover other ways of living! Here in Europe we have fantastic houses but some spaces are left empty a lot of the time, such as guest bedrooms. Japanese homes are conceived more to fulfil family requirements at
a specific time.
VH: As plots cost more than construction, homes are seen as short-term. They build on a different time scale.

What were the principle considerations for the project that won the Less Is More Prize?
FM: We imagined a contemporary building connected with its site and environment: to the north, a view of an imposing cliff face, to the south,a wonderful exposure giving maximum light. Consequently the living area is one continuous through space wide-open to the landscape. The bedrooms to the side also give onto the terrace.
VH: The idea was to produce a simple architecture of repeated dwelling units very much in contact with the countryside. That way you blur the boundaries between interior and exterior, playing with solids and spaces to create different angles of view.

Have you any other ongoing projects you're particularly keen on?
VH: Yes, we've just won a residential contract in Tokyo, where we'll be working with a Japanese team. We wanted to make it a focal point inthe neighbourhood and bring the generations together. The main building is surrounded by woods accessible to everyone, with lots of activities taking place throughout the seasons. Then each floor has an open terrace shared by the residents.
FM: We also have a plan to write a book on this region's architecture, because there are some real masterpieces here: the Fondation Maeght, Villa Arson, Marina Baie des Anges, Villa Eileen Gray, for example, plus buildings such as IBM's in La Gaude and a whole host of remarkable private constructions. We want the public to discover them through pictures.

Par Tanja Stojanov

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