ABRIS A KAYAKS | A Shed for Kayaks in the French Countryside

Over the last decades, there has been a trend confining architects to desks and computers rather than building sites. But with more and more young architects going to venues like Burning Man or opening up small fabrication shops, we are seeing the reemergence of craftsmanship in small design-build work. Over the summer three friends sought work that would allow them to experience this and get their hands dirty. One hundred and twenty kilometers South-East of Paris, on the fringe of Burgundy, lays the 16th century farmhouse of Biancourt, a bucolic oasis within a sea of wheat fields. Located next to a lake, the site needed a small shed that would protect kayaks and fishing rods. In terms of design, it was quite simple: a covered bridge with barn doors on either end. But in terms of action and effect it became a threshold, mediating the transition from land to water. It has been a wonderful learning experience for several reasons. First of all, we realized that there are a lot of differences between the French and the American ways of building. But most importantly, we realized how many important design decisions are taken while building. It made us realize how crucial to the project the relationship between the builder and the architect is, especially in the US were these two professions are so divided. This may appear as an intuitive realization stemming from another student project in our portfolio. The above could be an easy conclusion and this shed would just remain another student project in our portfolio. However what mattered in the end was not the final product but the innate desire that pushed three grad students to “get their hands dirty.”

Courtenay, France // Summer 2015

In Collaboration with Dorian Booth & Christian Golden

Published in Paprika Fold V