Luberon - Heartland of the Provence .....
The Luberon is a 230 sqm / 600 sqkm area in southern France - right in the heart of the Provence.
Its northern border is defined by the Vaucluse mountain range and its southern border by the Luberon mountain range.
The Luberon Valley, stretching eastwest between its mountain borders, is traversed in its northern part by the Cavalon River and is interspersed with numerous limestone hills and steep rocks, offering protected settlements for humans since thousands of years.
Simplicity, Adaptation, endless Variation
are the three factors which characterize the medieval architecture of the Luberon hill-top villages.
The houses and other buildings are composed of a combination of three simple forms: rectangular, triangular and (sometimes) arch. Until quite recently, most inhabitants in the region where poor people - limited financial resources did not allow for fancy or fashionable architectural features. Any repairs, additions or adjustments required were simply done with whatever was available and affordable.
Still today, the architecture of the villages of the Luberon is displaying the medieval living conditions: houses have been built "simple and straight forward", using simple forms of geometry adapted to steep and rocky grounds and having been extended, modified and repaired over and over again by their hard-working inhabitants.
Each of these old buildings "tells a story", written into its facade over centuries of hard living.
This project tries to tell some of these stories.
The Luberon is a 230 sqm / 600 sqkm area in southern France - right in the heart of the Provence.
Its northern border is defined by the Vaucluse mountain range and its southern border by the Luberon mountain range.
The Luberon Valley, stretching eastwest between its mountain borders, is traversed in its northern part by the Cavalon River and is interspersed with numerous limestone hills and steep rocks, offering protected settlements for humans since thousands of years.
Simplicity, Adaptation, endless Variation
are the three factors which characterize the medieval architecture of the Luberon hill-top villages.
The houses and other buildings are composed of a combination of three simple forms: rectangular, triangular and (sometimes) arch. Until quite recently, most inhabitants in the region where poor people - limited financial resources did not allow for fancy or fashionable architectural features. Any repairs, additions or adjustments required were simply done with whatever was available and affordable.
Still today, the architecture of the villages of the Luberon is displaying the medieval living conditions: houses have been built "simple and straight forward", using simple forms of geometry adapted to steep and rocky grounds and having been extended, modified and repaired over and over again by their hard-working inhabitants.
Each of these old buildings "tells a story", written into its facade over centuries of hard living.
This project tries to tell some of these stories.