I grew up between France and America, and then travelled most of my youth. It opened my mind to a wide breadth of ideas and concepts. The dichotomy between western and eastern philosophies has always provoked my desire to investigate the essence and tenants of our world. A seminal moment for me was living and studying on a 1942 wooden sailing vessel in Venezuela and the lower Caribbean arc during my teenage years. We were a crew of 9 sharing a small living space in an unforgiving natural environment. Life out at sea develops a strong “I can” mindset simply because there is often no other option. This atypical living space planted the seed for my fascination with human-centric dwellings. We also studied ethnology, not in classrooms but by meeting natives Warao tribes along the Orinoco, as well as partnering with local government to establish full fledged archeological digs.

I later pursued a scientific education in south of France which led me to major from a mechanical engineering school. After working for three years in the aeronautical sector I shifted my attention to ancestral construction techniques such as lime stucco/ earthworks/ post and beam wooden structures. As a way to exercise this new foray I undertook a major restoration for a watermill whose foundations are estimated to date back to roman times with continuous use of the two horizontal water wheels up until the 19th century. The adaptation into a modern living space took five years to finalize with the help of a small crew of friends and a few hires. This experience gave me the opportunity to confront my ideas to the physical world in a very granular way and update them live with the feedback. The biggest lesson I learned during this process was to trust my vision.

Here is the modernized North-East façade, entirely glazed for maximum winter sun exposure. 

 

 

 

And this is the renovated medieval South-West façade 

 

 

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