Guehost House, The French artists Christophe Berdaguer + Marie Péjus have recently converted an old house with quite a history into something that is both startlingly new, and yet oddly reminiscent of a Gaudi past. The ‘new’ building, called Gue(ho)st House by the artists, in its next life will become a visitor’s centre for the Synagogue de Delme Contemporary Art Centre, with a ground floor reception centre for school children and visitors to the Centre plus a documentation and information centre.
© Ohdancy
The upper floor is host to a studio accommodating artists, interns, students and other professionals. Now that we’ve gotten the programmatic details out of the way, we can get to the really interesting stuff- the exterior. This is the startlingly new bit mentioned above. The building appears to be made of a sort of hand-formed concrete.
© Ohdancy
However, this is merely an illusion- it is instead composed of the original base house- which was at points in its past a prison house, a school, and a funeral parlour- and is cloaked in a much lighter, all together unexpected material: a new skin of polystyrene coated and sealed in resin and painted white. The artists drew upon the theme of the house with it’s previous lives in conceiving the scheme with it’s ghost-like appearance.
Matt Davis is a Virginia Tech graduate and one of the founding editors behind Arch2O. Launching the platform in mid‑2012 alongside fellow Hokies, he helped shape its identity as an international hub for design innovation and critical dialogue . With a foundation in architectural education and a passion for uncovering unconventional design approaches, Matt has contributed significantly—both editorially and strategically—to Arch2O’s growth, ensuring that emerging architects, academics, and creatives have a space to question, explore, and elevate the built environment.