erasmus fairbairn architects

Asked for a Parisian home, we proposed something better — the Bastide, the grand rural manor of southern France. Designed with a French architect working in our studio, the house reveals itself slowly, hidden until the last moment by a canopy of trees.

 

The materials are tactile and humble: a special hand-applied plaster, stone, timber. The proportions are generous — large beautiful rooms, a double-volume entrance hall crowned by an enormous oval glass skylight. The central forecourt, which would once have been the meeting place for carriages and horses, now welcomes mechanical transport, still housed in a stable-like structure. Some things change form. The intention remains.

 

Contemporary steel and glass pergolas, a boules court draped in wisteria, outdoor showers and a considered landscape complete the composition. Energy efficiency was woven throughout — solar water heating, water-borne underfloor heating and a closed solar system. Interior architecture by EFA, original interior décor by Sandra Bowler, most recently reimagined by Brian Leib Interiors.

 

This house has changed hands a number of times, with each new owner falling more in love with it than the one before. It is timeless and continues to adapt to the change required of it.

 

Grand in scale. Defined by detail.