Contemporary triplex

This 83 m² property is organized as a stratified composition in three stacked sequences, each serving a specific function.

The ground floor accommodates a bedroom with a shower room, a toilet, an office, and a storage room. This level functions as an autonomous base, capable of hosting a guest room, a professional workspace, or a private suite.

The intermediate level forms the heart of the home. It contains a through-living room, a kitchen, and a 24 m² terrace that extends the living space along its axis. The terrace is not an appendage but a true extension of the floor plan, transforming the façade into a permeable boundary.

The top level houses two bedrooms and a bathroom. The organization here is more intimate: circulation is minimized to the essentials, and storage is integrated into the building’s structure.

It is also possible to acquire a parking space located on the basement level (R-1) of the house.

This apartment enjoys an exceptional location, just steps from the sought-after Chartrons district in Bordeaux. While close to the vibrant local boutiques, wine shops, and bistros, it offers a calm living environment, with shops and schools nearby.

It is very well served by public transport (bus and Tram lines E and C: Grand Parc or Emile Counord stops), providing access to the city center in 10 minutes and the train station in 25 minutes. By car, Mérignac Airport is 22 minutes away, and the motorway is 10 minutes away.

The architects here deliver a vertically oriented project in which the volumes are organized around a staircase that ensures continuity while hierarchizing the spaces: private areas at the ends, shared spaces in the middle. The compactness is perfectly controlled, nothing is superfluous, and every circulation is purposefully designed. Likewise, light plays a structuring role : floor-to-ceiling windows, skylights in the bathroom, and ribbon windows; each opening gives its space a distinct atmosphere.

This project generally embodies the hallmarks of Nathalie Franck and Yves Ballot’s work: clarity of the plan, constructive rigor, and an economy of means in service of spatial experience.

This triplex belongs to a generation of contemporary Bordeaux architecture that renewed collective housing through precision rather than gesture. It does not seek iconic status; it asserts correctness and balance. Few projects have managed to maintain this level of spatial coherence. Its heritage value lies precisely in this coherence : a rethought domestic typology, a consciously embraced density, and a carefully controlled relationship between interior and exterior.

Professors at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture et de Paysage de Bordeaux, Nathalie Frank and Yves Ballot have been partners since 2000. Graduates of the architecture schools of Versailles and Toulouse, they won the Équerre d’Argent in 2007 for the Nuyens school complex in Bordeaux. Together, they have designed a variety of projects, including other educational facilities (Olympe de Gouges School Group, 2021, Bordeaux), collective housing developments (apartment buildings in Cornebarrieu, 2013, Haute-Garonne), restorations (rehabilitation of Château de Soule into a cultural center, nursery, and offices, 2015–2016, Ramonville-Saint-Agne), as well as office buildings. They share a common vision of innovative architecture that creates a dialogue between heritage, contemporary spirit, and adaptive reuse.