A former fisherman’s cottage in Brittany is transformed by a new timber extension

In this modest extension to a semi-detached rural cottage in Brittany, Parisian architects A-platz have opened up the structure to the garden and transformed the ground floor into a generous open-plan space. The architects set out to ‘establish a new dialogue between the building and its surroundings’, using the modest timber-framed extension as a way of exploring the local vernacular architecture.

In less sophisticated hands, the extension, with its simple mono-pitched roof, could have been a banal and jarring addition to the original stone-walled fisherman’s cottage. Instead, it has been detailed and built to feel like an organic extension of the original that has always been there. At the same time, A-platz has concocted a formal simplicity and interior alterations that could only belong to the modern era.

One existing element that had to be unaltered was the tall gable end of the house, with its thick, rough stone walls. The architects describe this wall as a ‘fundamental element of rustic, rural Breton architecture’, noting that the adjoining extension doesn’t encroach on it in any way.

At just 150 sq m, the project is relatively small. The new extension houses a modern kitchen and dining space, along with a utility area and WC, instantly making the room feel connected to both house and garden. The site, on the banks of the Rance river, wasn’t well served by the orientation of the house, which turned away from the garden and felt insular and closed off from the landscape.

The clients had already opened up a new window on the gable end but A-platz has gone much further, with a large connecting opening inserted into the thick original walls, supported by a slender column.

The space is unified by a poured floor that runs throughout the space, with the original beams of the old house and the timber ceilings of the extension indicating where old ends and new begins. The threshold is also accentuated by the exposed concrete of the beam and column.

The architects also stripped the walls back to the original stone, applying a lime-hemp render inside and out to help the structure breathe and enhance the natural feeling of warmth. In addition to restoring the house’s original boat-building inspired joinery.

Key new timber elements have been introduced, the library, the winding staircase and the timber extension itself with its wood-clad ceiling and kitchen units. The overall effect respects the local vernacular and scale whilst also opening up the function and social structure of the house.

A small architecture studio, A-platz was set up in 2021. The office has worked in France and Romania on projects ranging from private dwellings to student housing and offices.

a-platz.com, @a_platz_architects