Casa Saint Didier

Semi-detached house renovation in Saint-Didier-au-Mont-d'Or, France

  • Categories Residential
  • Status Completed
  • Year 2021-2022
  • Location Saint-Didier-au-Mont-d'Or, France
  • Area 135 m2
  • Collaborators Sarah Molle architect

Located in the historic village of Saint-Didier-au-Mont-d’Or, this renovation transforms a 135 m² semi-detached stone house for a young couple while preserving the character and material richness of the existing building.

The original layout placed the entrance and living room on the side of the house accessed from the internal driveway, while the kitchen overlooked the garden at the rear. Although both spaces benefited from natural light, the depth of the house and the existing organisation limited its penetration, leaving the centre of the ground floor comparatively dark and weakening the relationship between the main living spaces and the garden.

The intervention reorganises the ground floor around a new sequence of living, dining and cooking spaces that opens towards the garden. The kitchen and dining area occupy the former living room, while the new living space is relocated to the garden façade, strengthening the relationship between everyday life and the outdoor spaces. The replacement of the original entrance door with a fully glazed opening, together with a large new opening towards the garden and the enlargement of the existing kitchen window, allows natural light to penetrate much deeper into the house, transforming the atmosphere of the entire ground floor.

At the centre of the project, a new sculptural white staircase replaces the existing enclosed stair, becoming both a circulation element and a source of visual continuity between levels. Upstairs, the wall surrounding the staircase is removed to allow light to flow through the centre of the house, while new roof windows introduce additional daylight from above. The original arrangement of the three bedrooms is preserved, concentrating the intervention where it could have the greatest spatial impact within the available budget.

The project balances contemporary interventions with the restoration of the house’s original character. Existing stone walls, timber beams and traditional terracotta flooring remain the defining elements of the interior, while new insertions—including the monolithic staircase, bespoke oak joinery and carefully proportioned openings—are conceived as precise contemporary additions that remain visually distinct from the historic fabric.

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