© Architecture de Collection
A contemporary masterpiece to experience
This spectacular, slender, and transparent urban house was completed in 2017 by the Parisian firm Wild Rabbits Architecture (WRA). Nestled between a suburban apartment building and a Haussmannian structure, it is clad in a metallic accordion mesh that evokes a Miura fold.
The interior spaces were designed by interior architects Alexandra Selig and Carl Renault. To balance the mineral aesthetic of the house, composed of raw concrete, metal, and glass, the duo incorporated soft textures, rounded forms, and a broad color palette. Most of the furniture was custom-designed for each space. One of the interior walls is entirely covered with a printed sky motif, its tones shifting across the floors to create a gentle ambiance that celebrates the project’s verticality.
A vertical villa
Wild Rabbits Architecture has crafted an airy design, defined by the contrast between the transparency of the interior spaces and the opacity of the structure as seen from the street. The project’s constraints, such as the narrow plot, the height of neighboring buildings, zoning regulations, and the client’s program, led the architects to design a skyward-reaching structure, animated by setbacks and an original “thick façade.”
The façade is draped in an 18-meter-high spiral steel mesh, arranged in an accordion pattern. Typically used in urban or sports facilities, this metallic fabric lends the building a sense of lightness. Its folds create shifting patterns of light and shadow depending on the sun’s position, while effectively shielding the interior from outside views.
The pursuit of natural light, a guiding principle of the project, is embodied in the glass curtain wall, the use of metal grates for the cantilevered balcony floors, and the incorporation of voids and offsets at every level. These features allow light from the rooftop terrace to filter down to the ground floor.
While each floor has a designated function, the minimalist concrete post-and-beam framework leaves the floor plans open, offering near-total flexibility in layout.
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Wild Rabbits Architecture
Based in Paris’s 12th arrondissement, Wild Rabbits Architects develop an approach that combines meticulous attention to site, users, and project partners, a strong environmental commitment, and a passion for contemporary design tools and the creative freedom they enable.
Their diverse portfolio reflects a broad consideration of context. Their architectural solutions derive their identity and originality from programmatic, constructive, or environmental innovation.
In 2008, the firm was awarded the NAJAP (Nouveaux Albums des Jeunes Architectes et Paysagistes) by the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
Drawings © Droits réservés
OUR ARCHIVES
Manuel Aires Mateus architecte
Ocean-facing house, 2015
WRA