Transformation and extension of an annex building into housing. Project carried out with a minimal budget.

The project is composed of an old construction located on a sloping plot. This structure is composed of concrete slabs, lintels and posts, spread over two levels with parking spaces on the roof. It measures 5 meters by 5 meters on the upper level and is reduced by half in depth on the lower level. The whole evokes a construction of the modern movement, compact and integrated into its natural environment.

The objective was to transform this structure into a functional dwelling integrating a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen. The extension of the building was carried out in a strategic and constrained manner, opting for an extension to the south by doubling the existing frame. The extension is a simple volume of 5 cubic meters.

Due to the partial burial of the building in the slope, the insulation was carried out from the inside. This made it possible to preserve the original architectural expression by continuing the pre-existing exterior language. Poured on site, the concrete was worked after stripping. It thus dialogues with the mineral bricks in a play of contrasting materials, emphasizing the expression of the structure and the filling.

The structural diagram expressed on the façade seems to defy the usual rules, but it does so in the service of a composition with the old building, where the appearance does not immediately reveal the interior logic.

The project uses these budgetary, structural and contextual constraints to propose a construction in dialogue with its environment, as well as with the rich Valais tradition of concrete works during the 20th century.