Modernist House

The house is organized in a U-shaped layout, offering 231 m² of living space on a 1,900 m² plot.

The ground floor opens into a spacious living area, including a sunken lounge with a fireplace, oriented toward the landscape. It also features a library and a dining room. The living area is open and bright, benefiting from natural light and the surrounding outdoors.
The dining room leads to a fully equipped kitchen, structured around a sandstone wall that separates it from the pantry.

The sleeping area includes three bedrooms : a master suite opening onto the garden with a private terrace, an en-suite bathroom, and a walk-in closet, as well as a bedroom with its own shower room. This area is completed by two additional bedrooms, a second double shower room, and separate toilets.

The lower level is a large, adaptable space with high windows, offering possibilities for customization or storage.
The house also includes a large garage, a versatile semi-basement room, two cellars, and a cleaning supply closet.

Finally, the garden is tree-lined, providing privacy from neighboring properties.

The house is located in a quiet, residential neighborhood on the hills of Argenteuil, bordering Sannois. It benefits from all amenities : local shops, markets, schools, leisure activities, restaurants, and transportation. The RER J line provides direct access to Gare Saint-Lazare in about 15 minutes.

Argenteuil is historically linked to Impressionism, serving as a major source of inspiration for Claude Monet. The city preserves this heritage today, notably through the Maison Impressionniste.

The architecture of this house reflects the iconic style of Abraham & Rol. They conceived architecture as a total work of art, placing great emphasis on quality and ways of living. From the purity of lines and open floor plan to the details of the furniture, the design reveals a human-scale architecture characterized by functional, well-proportioned spaces that are widely open to the outdoors.

The spatial experience is also defined by contrasts in textures and pops of color. Raw materials like brick and concrete interact with smooth materials such as wood, glass, and steel. Original elements, such as the long lacquered benches underlining the bay windows, the colorful doors, and built-in cabinets, have been preserved and contribute to the house’s identity.

Inspired by Japanese culture and its pursuit of harmony between humans and nature, Janine Abraham and Dirk Jan Rol developed a “naturalist” approach, which they described as organic. This philosophy leverages the beneficial effects of nature on the inhabitants’ well-being. They designed buildings integrated into their surroundings, featuring living spaces generously open to the outdoors, allowing light to flood in and adapting the residents’ lives to the rhythm of the seasons.

Here, they created a true journey leading to the house: a path winds through the garden, the pond, and the patio, punctuated by carefully considered visual perspectives. This journey continues with a circulation area designed as an “indoor terrace.” The architects also took advantage of the slope of the land, embedding the house into its landscape. Almost invisible from the street, it offers both privacy and unobstructed views.

A legendary post-war design couple, Janine Abraham (1929–2005) and Dirk Jan Rol (1929–2025) worked together throughout their careers. They married in 1955 and opened a furniture and interior design studio, which later evolved into an architecture firm. They presented their first pieces at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs in 1956.

Janine Abraham, known for her revolutionary rattan creations, graduated from École Camondo and designed her first pieces with Pierre Paulin and the furniture publishers Huchers Minvielle. Dirk Jan Rol trained as a cabinetmaker in the Netherlands before studying at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. He designed stores for Huchers Minvielle, Yves Rocher, Conforama, and exhibition stands for Saint-Gobain. The duo stood out for the modernity of their work, blending industrial and craftsmanship techniques with both luxurious and modest materials.

In architecture, they designed villas open to nature in the Paris region, where the landscape became an integral part of the living space.

Their work was honored in 2017 with an exhibition at the Pascal Cuisinier Gallery in Paris.