Contemporary house

The property consists of two main buildings : a main house and a second structure.

The main house offers 596 m² spread over three floors. The main level features a vast living room, a winter garden, an open-plan kitchen leading to the dining area, an office, and a spacious suite with a bathroom and walk-in closet. These generous living spaces benefit from abundant natural light and high ceilings.

From the entrance, a stone staircase leads to the first floor. This level includes a first parental suite of 85 m² with a 10 m² bathroom (including toilet) and a 17 m² walk-in closet. A second parental suite of nearly 60 m² features a bathroom with double sinks and a walk-in closet. The third bedroom, with a shower room and toilet, offers 35 m².

This floor is completed by a 30 m² loggia and a second 30 m² living room.

The basement includes a wine cellar, a laundry-pantry, a space that can serve as a home cinema, restrooms, a walk-in closet, large storage areas, and a large 110 m² garage.

Designed as a pool house and overlooking a remarkable 21-meter swimming pool, the second building is dedicated to guests. It allows for comfortable family living with a large bedroom with a shower room, a reception area, a fitness room, and a hammam. It also includes a caretaker’s apartment with independent access.

Several terraces and a pétanque court complete the exterior of the house, extending the pursuit of comfort and quality of life. The estate consists of one hectare of landscaped garden, one hectare of vineyard, and one hectare of olive trees.

The property also features a carport.

Less than ten minutes from the historic center of Aix-en-Provence, the house enjoys a peaceful and sought-after environment in the heart of the Provençal vineyards. The property also benefits from the proximity of the town of Venelles and its amenities.

Known as the birthplace of the Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, Aix-en-Provence is a dynamic city with a rich cultural offering (Cézanne’s Studio, Château la Coste, Vasarely Foundation, among others).

Rooted in vernacular traditions, the Provençal mas is a typical construction of Mediterranean rural housing. Its design had to meet the requirements of agricultural use : simple volumes, a dual-pitched roof covered with terracotta tiles, and thick dry-stone walls providing natural thermal inertia.

This rehabilitation demonstrates how the architect appropriates this traditional language to translate it into a contemporary style. He combines terracotta tiles, wood, and dry stone from the base of the main house with materials such as metal, glass, and lime for the façade treatment.

The layout logic of the mas, dictated by environmental constraints, is preserved : a south-facing orientation to protect from the wind, limited and narrow openings to the north to ensure comfort in both summer and winter. The south and west façades, which house the living spaces, are therefore widely open, fostering a connection with the garden and outdoor living. The north and east façades, on the other hand, adopt a more framed design, giving the whole an understated aesthetic.

This project builds on the qualities of Provençal architecture while adapting them to contemporary uses.

A graduate of the Versailles School of Architecture in 1987 and deceased in 2017, Bach Nguyen was a French architect and founder of the agency bachnguyenarchitecture.

His career was marked by the intersection of contemporary architecture and heritage intervention. His many years of experience gave him expertise in the rehabilitation and transformation of existing sites. His agency, founded in 2008, has carried out diverse projects such as the development of Château du Hohlandsbourg, the rehabilitation of the Pullman Tour Eiffel hotel, and that of the La Réserve hotel in Paris.

His practice resonates with that of Jean-Michel Wilmotte, a major figure in contemporary French architecture, with whom he worked for several years. Also an urban planner and designer, Wilmotte is renowned for his work on large-scale cultural facilities. Among his major achievements are the Bordeaux Convention Center (2003), the renovation of the Hôtel Lutetia in Paris (2018), the United Nations House in Senegal (2022), the Paris Saint-Germain campus (2023), and the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris (2021).