Saint-Ange Residency | Studio Odile Decq

Saint-Ange Residency, The placement of the Saint-Ange Residency, on the lower side of the plateau of Tour Saint-Ange’s park, beyond the vegetable garden, under the trees and on the slope leading toward the Grenoble’s golf course – was definitively a challenge.The site is beautiful for its unobstructed view on Grenoble’s valley, but difficult for its hard and narrow slope.

Photography by © Roland Halbe

This is why, when discovering the site, and despite all the difficulties, creating a view overlooking the entire valley became the dominant idea. A belvedere became the evident solution: to see as much of the valley as pos- sible by going above the trees, but without ever having a reverse view in order to protect the intimacy of the Tour Saint-Ange and its park.

Photography by © Roland Halbe

The studio was therefore thought of as a kind of tower on 3 different levels that twist to reach the view beyond the valley. This is monolithic architecture, a silent piece of art, made entirely from wood, with a natural finish on the inside and a black asphalt finish on the outside. During the daytime, multiple openings on the facade allow the light to pour into the living rooms, the studio and the two levels above – from 3 different directions (except from the north side facing the Tour Saint-Ange). At night, the wood blinds treated with the exact same finish as the facade hide the windows and allow the monolith to become all black and quiet once again.