The characteristic architectural style of the Bordeaux school – with its palette of cross-references combining local identity, Bauhaus spirit, and inspirations from Californian and Brazilian modernism – is perfectly legible here.

The interweaving of cubic masses draws a subtle sequence of spaces and circulations. The continuous dialogue between inside and outside, thanks to the immense glass windows, and the assumed use of wood shape a serene and warm living place in full nature.

The agency, founded in 1964 in Bordeaux, consists of Yves Salier, Adrien Courtois, Pierre Lajus and Michel Sadirac, and is noted for the construction of several neighborhoods (“Le Hameau de Noailles” in Talence, the “Domaine de Fougères” and the “Ponte-Lamartine” operation in Pessac), which are still considered to be operations with exemplary modernity.

Although the agency carried out a project of collective housing, the hamlet of Noailles (1968-1973), as well as religious buildings in reinforced concrete, it specializes in individual housing. The prefabricated houses Girolle, with their wooden structure (an economical alternative to concrete pavilions) were produced in about 700 copies. The architects also oriented themselves towards a more high-end architecture, by building modernist villas in reinforced concrete, notably Villa Février in 1972 (listed as Historical Monument in 2017) or Villa Tenaya (1970), with a sculptural appearance and integrating, by its shape, in the landscape.

The agency received in 1965, together with the Atelier de Montrouge and the Atelier d’urbanisme et d’architecture (A.U.A.), the Grand Prix du Cercle d’études architecturales.