Maison à Bordeaux 16/11/21, 1:20 PM

© Hans Werlemann

Maison à Bordeaux
The Maison à Bordeaux is a private residence of three floors on a cape-like hill
overlooking Bordeaux. The lower level is a series of caverns carved out from the hill,
designed for the most intimate life of the family; the ground floor on garden level is a
glass room – half inside, half outside – for living; and the upper floor is divided into a
children's and a parents' area. The heart of the house is a 3x3.5m elevator platform that
moves freely between the three floors, becoming part of the living space or kitchen or
transforming itself into an intimate office space, and granting access to books, artwork,
and the wine cellar.

A couple lived in a very old, beautiful house in Bordeaux. They wanted a new house,
maybe a very simple house. They were looking at different architects. Then the husband
had a car accident. He almost died, but he survived. Now he needs a wheelchair.

Two years later, the couple began to think about the house again. Now the new house
could liberate the husband from the prison that their old house and the medieval city had
become. "Contrary to what you would expect," he told the architect, "I do not want a
simple house. I want a complex house, because the house will define my world..." They
bought land on a hill with panoramic views over the city.

The architect proposed a house – or actually three houses on top of each other. The man
had his own 'room', or rather 'station': the elevator platform. The movement of the
elevator continuously changes the achitecture of the house. A machine is its heart.

LOCATION
LOCATION B
Bordeaux,
ordeaux, France
France

CLIENT N/A

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Maison à Bordeaux 16/11/21, 1:20 PM

YEAR 1994 – 1998

1994 1998
• COMMISSION COMPLETION •

STATUS Completed

PROGRAM Residential

Total
█ 500m²

TEAM

Rem Koolhaas
Vincent Coste
Chris Dondorp
Chris van Duijn
Jeanne Gang
Julien Monfort
Bill Price
Erik Schotte
Oliver Schütte
Jeroen Thomas
Yo Yamagata

COLLABORATORS

STRUCTURE: Arup
FITTED FURNISHING, MOBILE PLATFORM: Maarten van Severen, Raf de Preter
BOOKCASE: Vincent de Rijk
COORDINATION, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE: Michel Régaud
FAÇADE: Robert-Jan van Santen
HYDRAULICS: Gerard Couillandeau
INTERIOR: Inside Outside

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Maison à Bordeaux 16/11/21, 1:20 PM

2013
August
August 5th
5th 2013
2013

Maison à Bordeaux
➝ ARCHITECTUUL

2008
December
December 25th
25th 2008
2008

A Decade's Most Remarkable Homes

➝ WALL STREET JOURNAL
August 5th 2013

2007
March
March 27th
27th 2007
2007

Maison á Bordeaux
➝ E-ARCHITECT
December 25th 2008

1998
December
December 21st
21st 1998
1998

The Best of 1998 Design

➝ TIME
Maison à Bordeaux
➝ ARCHITECTUUL
March 27th 2007

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Game Changers 2015: Ila B Bêka

êka and Louise
Lemoine
A Decade's
➝ METROPOLIS Most Remarkable Homes
➝ WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 21st 1998

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2013
October
October 15th
15th 2013
2013

Book Club Review: Living Architectures:

Koolhaas Houselife
➝ BD ONLINE

NaN Bêka
Bêka &
& Lemoine's
Lemoine's film
film on
on Maison
Maison àà Bordeaux
Bordeaux

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Koolhaas
October 15th 2013
Houselife
➝ LIVING ARCHITECTURES

Bêka & Lemoine's film on Maison à Bordeaux

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Book Club Review: Living Architectures:

Koolhaas Houselife
➝ BD ONLINE

Koolhaas Houselife
➝ LIVING ARCHITECTURES

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