A t t i c

Mangarivotra . Madagascar . 2021

Client Association Tantsaha Mizara

Status Ongoing

This restoration project is located on the slopes of the village Mangarivotra. It is the architectural stage of a large Eco hamlet project.

This is the transformation of a private house into a community attic. 13 hectares of agricultural land surrounding the building are made available to 8 Malagasy farmer families who work and plow each of the allocated plots (in a food self-sufficiency program and permaculture scheme). They plant beans, Moringa oleifera, corn, cassava and at the same time they develop an edible and medicinal forest with the aim of promoting Malagasy traditional knowledge.

The restored 192m2 house is the agricultural activity headquarter :

– community granary where they store the harvests seeds.

– processing workshop and stockage (perfume, aromatic and medicinal plants, Essential Oils, baths, dryers, etc.).

– farmers community meetings.

– reception for volunteers in training.

The restoration consists of reviewing the layout of the rooms, enlarging the eastern facade thanks to a raised terrace on a series of load-bearing posts (major element of traditional local architecture) and protecting it from bad weather by a curtain of Vienna straw, basketry unmissable in the Malagasy landscape. Lime plaster, local wood, thatch roofing and rainwater harvesting are some of the techniques used.

V i l l a v o

Angavo . Madagascar . 2018

Client Private

Status Ongoing

This large private house is located on a plot of land overlooking the town of Andrefanangavo, in the heart of the Hauts Plateaux of Madagascar.The view is magnificient and the orientation is ideal. Naturally, the rectangular volume extends over its entire side in order to take advantage of the panorama. It is made up of two accommodation units (the larger one is for the client couple when the second one for the guests), both joined by a common terrace.

The two ends of the villa are volumetrically identical : two rectangular blocks from which a gallery unfolds. This covered gallery uses the construction system of load-bearing posts, a major traditional Malagasy architecture element, thus protecting from the zenithal sun. Other traditional elements are taken up in the structure of the villa as the mud bricks for the walls and the terracotta tiles which cover the large sloping roof.

An invisible gutter system is installed at the intersection of the long bean of the gallery and the roof, in order to facilitate the rainwater harvesting from torrential rains in the wet season. The landscaping is inspired by the surrounding rice fields and an irrigation system is designed to take care of the different trees planted by the nurserywoman, horticulturist and client of the project : coffees, mangos, guavas …

P a p a n g o

Ampefy . Madagascar . 2018

Client Private

Status Ongoing

Papango is part of an ambitious project of three private constructions, a triptych of modern villas leaning against a hill and overlooking the Itasy lake : Mitsiky, Akanin’ny and Papango, aka Ampefy’s Nests.

The villas enjoy in a natural environment which determines each architectural concept, but with the same term : homogeneous use of local materials (enhancement of mud bricks, clay plaster, local wood). We are on a wide sloping area which runs down to the shores of the lake and where the owners have already planted hundreds of trees. We have to imagine them in a few years, mango trees or mantalys, covering all the site. As bird nests, the villas nestle high up. They arise between topographic curves.

Papango consists of two elements :

– a central volume which welcomes the principal day rooms.

– two lateral blocks where the 4 night rooms evolve.

A terrace unfolds on the north facade. The kings of this place are Circus Macrosceles: a typical harrier hovering in the Itasy, ‘Papango’ in Malagasy tongue.

M i t s i k y

Ampefy . Madagascar . 2018

Client Private

Status Ongoing

Mitsiky is part of an ambitious project of three private constructions, a triptych of modern villas leaning against a hill and overlooking the Itasy lake : Mitsiky, Akanin’ny and Papango, aka Ampefy’s Nests.  

The villas enjoy in a natural environment which determines each architectural concept, but with the same term : homogeneous use of local materials (enhancement of mud bricks, clay plaster, local wood). We are on a wide sloping area which runs down to the shores of the lake and where the owners have already planted hundreds of trees. We have to imagine them in a few years, mango trees or mantalys, covering all the site. As bird nests, the villas nestle high up. They arise between topographic curves.    

Mitsiky consists of two elements :

– a 25 linear meter facade which welcomes the day rooms and the bedrooms.

– a volume at the back of the house where the entrance, kitchen, pantry and laundry rooms evolve.

A terrace unfolds on the north facade. From there, the view is magnificent: two peninsulas are linked together by a sand beach, we can read the shape of a smile, the meaning of ‘Mitsiky’ in Malagasy tongue.

A k a n i n’n y

Ampefy . Madagascar . 2018

Client Private

Status Ongoing

Akanin’ny is part of an ambitious project of three private constructions, a triptych of modern villas leaning against a hill and overlooking the Itasy lake : Mitsiky, Akanin’ny and Papango, aka Ampefy’s Nests.

The villas enjoy in a natural environment which determines each architectural concept, but with the same term : homogeneous use of local materials (enhancement of mud bricks, clay plaster, local wood). We are on a wide sloping area which runs down to the shores of the lake and where the owners have already planted hundreds of trees. We have to imagine them in a few years, mango trees or mantalys, covering all the site. As bird nests, the villas nestle high up. They arise between topographic curves.

Akanin’ny consists of two elements :

– a central dome which welcomes the room and the living.

– two lateral domes where the kitchen and the bathroom evolve.

A terrace unfolds on the north facade. We are at the highest point of the site, it’s the eagle’s nest, ‘Akanin’ny’ in Malagasy tongue.