Villa La Sousta _ Hyères France

 

Program Rehabilitation, transformation and extension of a private house
Floor Area 115 m² extension (190 m² of terraces), 230 m² total
Location Hyères, French Riviera, France
Timeline Studies 2003 / Construction 2005–2006
Client Private
Engineering Steel Structure Engineering: CD.3D SARL
Contractors CEF (concrete structure), EBI (steel structure), EVM (electrical and plumbing), BAR (timber flooring), ETS Leone (wood joinery), Catalver (aluminium joinery), SMTEI (waterproofing), Fantino (painting), Pépinière du Gapeau (landscape works)

General principles

The project seeks to reveal the different layers of the Mediterranean landscape by offering several degrees of immersion in the vegetation, from the ground to the treetops.

The extension transforms the relationship between the house and its sloping site by creating multiple experiences of the landscape depending on elevation, season, climate and time of day. Rather than dominating the site, the architecture proposes different ways of inhabiting it.

From the street, the house appears almost unchanged. The intervention remains discreet and blends into the topography. The extension consists of adding an inhabited “stone” — a mineral roof terrace extending the upper level — beneath which new living spaces open onto the landscape.

Residents can thus choose their environment according to the climate, the season, the weather, the time of day or simply their mood.

 

A House Embedded in the Slope

Built on a steeply sloping site, the house already featured two levels, each accessible directly from the outside.

The project extends this unique relationship with the terrain by creating new spaces that follow the natural slope while strengthening the connection between the building and its surrounding vegetation.

Largely invisible from the public realm, the extension favours a discreet integration into the existing landscape.

 

Inhabiting Multiple Landscapes

The architecture offers four complementary experiences of the site, each establishing a different relationship with vegetation and landscape.

  • The Garden
    At the back of the property, visitors enter the heart of the Mediterranean woodland. The curved stone terrace walls (restanques) dialogue with the geometric silhouette of the villa in the background.
  • The Lower Level
    Long horizontal windows open onto an earthen terrace and immerse occupants in the landscape at trunk level. A few years later, a spa was added, extending this intimate relationship with the garden.
  • The Living Space
    Full-height glazed openings lead onto a timber terrace suspended within the foliage. Sliding Red Cedar shutters modulate light, shade and ventilation while allowing outdoor spaces to be reconfigured. Pocket sliding doors blur the boundary between interior and exterior, creating a generous, flowing living environment.
  • The Upper Terrace
    From the mineral rooftop terrace, the view unfolds above the canopy. A vast green landscape stretches towards the horizon and the distant sea.

 

Blurring the Boundary Between Inside and Outside

The project seeks to dissolve the limits between architecture and landscape.

Large openings, pocket sliding doors, movable shutters and the continuity of terraces multiply possible uses and allow constant adaptation to climatic conditions.

The house becomes a device offering several degrees of immersion in nature, from the shade of the trunks to the light of distant horizons.

 

This video is extracted from a film produced in 2006.

Spa La Sousta

A few years after the completion of the extension, a spa was added at the lower level of the house. Nestled within the vegetation and in direct contact with the natural terrain, it extends the immersive experience of the landscape by creating a new space for relaxation among the trees.

 

 

 

Choosing your landscape.