Beneath the alpine ridge lines of the pic de charance in france is nestled the undulating maison W, ‘the pleated house.’ the transformative, folding dwelling is designed by architects christophe benichou and virgile ponsoye as a place for healing within architecture, with its defining occupiable windows introducing a modular cocoon habitat. the project commits to pay tribute to its setting. in dialogue with its mountainous context, the house is partially embedded into the topography, with its main level access buried. projecting outward from the terrain, a sweeping, green rooftop terrace suggests an extension of the alpine meadows.
Christophe Benichou and Virgile Ponsoye’s maison W, ‘the pleated house’ both integrates into the landscape, and actively participates in it. the dynamic house playfully alternates between mimicry and abstraction, as the deformation of the facade resonates with the geological folds of its mountainous context.
The use of rugged, sandblasted concrete camouflaged with a green roof suggests a continuation of the limestone outcroppings of the charance. standing as powerful relief of concrete and glass, the pleated house is the fruit of a double hybrid: between city and nature and between mountainous and mediterranean climates.