Case Study: A hidden retreat in the Alps showcases ceramic tile by APE Grupo

By APE Grupo

Maison Les Marquises, a chalet nestled in the peaks of the Alps, achieves a balance between beauty and architectural discipline with precision in the choice of materials.

With a single ceramic tile collection from APE Grupo, architects masterfully resolved the entire home to harmoniously integrate with wood. The design, by French studio Atelier d’Architecture AMASA, blends the environment and nature with authenticity.

Maison Les Marquises, Faucon-de-Barcelonnette, France, was mentioned in the Ape Grupo Architecture Awards. First edition.

• DETAILS:
• Studio: Atelier d’Architecture AMASA
• Ceramic Tile Manufacturer: APE Grupo
• Photography: Atelier Amasa

“Maison Les Marquises,” an award-winning residential project in the first edition of the APE Grupo Architecture Awards, represents the balance between beauty and architectural discipline. It is a home that embraces its surroundings, where two distinct materials, wood, and ceramics, coexist harmoniously. The creators at Atelier d’Architecture AMASA have skillfully woven the transitions between them in a silent, coherent, and integrated manner.

This was one of the compelling reasons why the judging panel for the awards decided to grant an honorable mention to this hidden retreat nestled in a dense forest. Located in the Faucon-de-Barcelonnette region in the southern French Alps, its creators, Aurore Schaeffer, and Alejandro Flores, two young architects with an office in the local area, have masterfully blended the environment, nature, and materials.

The architects have designed a cabin/house, as required by the owners, located in a mountainous area surrounded by tall, slender pine trees. An abandoned trail traverses the entire plot, recounting the history of the place and guiding visitors to “Maison Les Marquises,” which emerges from the density of the forest and offers stunning views. To the west, the alpine peaks of Sainte-Flavie can be seen, and to the east, Sauze, a small town in the Italian Piedmont, also in the Alps.

The cabin, constructed with prefabricated wooden panels, blends seamlessly with the natural environment in which it coexists. Upon entering the main door, the spaces are linearly distributed on the ground floor: entrance hall, bedrooms, living room and garden. Stepping outside, the flooring transitions to ceramic, guiding us towards the garden access room located in the south-east corner, whose generous volume opens expansively to the outdoors.

Invisible Transitions Between Ceramic Tile and Wood

This space has impressive ceramic flooring with specifications that enable a smooth transition of activities from outdoors to indoors, so that you can enjoy meals in summer and snow games in winter. The flow of use is thus inverted, it is invisibly domesticated and the space transforms into a garden. The indoor and outdoor areas, which are connected, mutually enhance one another.

The Amasa team has carefully selected ceramic flooring in an earthy red tone from APE Grupo, Argillae, which complements the greenery of the surrounding vegetation and harmonizes with the wood tones. The ceramic is a testament to craftsmanship, with its earthy qualities, its connection to clay and soil, its handmade manufacturing and its imperfect beauty that reflects the natural colors of the environment.

A spiral staircase connects the three levels of the home, allowing for an ambitious program within a limited surface area where traffic areas are designed as livable spaces. It also connects on the top level to a spacious bedroom that relates to the surrounding trees and their canopies that surround the house.

The common living areas are on the second level: living room, dining room, kitchen, and terraces, elevated among the trees and open to the forests to the north and south. These spaces engage with the natural surroundings and enjoy a contemplative, transversal connection. In these areas, ceramic and wood coexist, always from the same collection.

A covered terrace, integrated into the cabin’s volume, opens in the south-east corner; again, this sheltered space allows for outdoor enjoyment year-round, regardless of the weather. As a counterpoint to the framed views from the inside, this place offers a panoramic view for the family and a projection from indoors to outdoors.

About Atelier d’Architecture AMASA

Atelier AMASA is an architecture studio founded by Aurore Schaeffer and Alejandro Flores. Aurore, graduated from ENSA La Villette in 2010, worked on social housing projects in Chile before starting her independent practice. Alejandro, having graduated in architecture in Chile and with studies in Norway and France, joined her in 2017 to establish the studio in Barcelonnette, France. They have since specialized in medium-scale private and public projects, exploring local building traditions, and creating innovative spatial solutions. Their projects include renovating a twelfth-century chapel, public spaces in the town of Barcelonnette, wooden housing, and new spaces for nurseries, reaffirming their commitment to sustainability, environmental efficiency, and conscious, locally oriented design.

About APE Grupo

APE Grupo is an industry leader in the creation of unique spaces, by offering an extensive range of design ceramics, advanced technical products and services that help its customers to reach their optimum potential. APE Grupo was founded as a business group in 2016, bringing together four brands with more than 30 years of experience: APE best for you, Carmen true tiles, XLINING and Ilbagno. The Group, whose main office is in Castellón and has logistics centers in Onda (Castellón) and Fiorano Modenese (Italy), is present in 120 countries.