Le Refuge KE01 is a black timber cabin near the coastline of Keremma, France, built by Gayet Roger Architects to function as the firm’s co-founders’ family vacation home.
Somewhere in Keremma, France, just beyond the sea and behind a thicket of cypresses, a small sanctuary rises above the ground for a small family to find some respite. Designed to be the ultimate retreat for relaxation and rest, Le Refuge KE01 is a small black timber cabin with warm interiors by Gayet Roger Architects.
Designer: Gayet Roger Architects
Spearheaded by the firm’s co-founders, Anne and Aldric Gayet, the project was initially conceived to be an idyllic vacation home for the architects’ family. Measuring 850-square-feet, the black timber cabin was built in harmony with the surrounding landscape to brace weather conditions of all kinds.
Prone the flooding, the coastline of Keremma can be a tricky spot to build a home. Working with the natural topography, Le Refuge KE01’s final form is an asymmetrical cabin that’s positioned atop a raised platform that’s supported by four-foot-tall metal stilts. Rising to meet the height of the platform, a spacious, wraparound deck provides some lounge area on days when the weather permits.
Complementing the environment’s many cypress trees, Anne and Aldric turned to black Falun-style paint to coat the home’s exterior, which is clad in cross-laminated timber. Common throughout parts of Scandinavia, the Swedish pigment is used on cottages and cabins that have been in the area for centuries. Then, the home’s interior exudes a nest-like quality with warm, unfinished spruce cladding that inspired the architects to keep the interior design to a minimum.
Featuring only the essentials, the main personality of Le Refuge KE01 is found in its multiple floor-to-ceiling windows and bespoke furniture pieces. Built-in benches line the living areas throughout the home, while dining tables, shelving, and counters are also built into their respective rooms. Framing the integrated benches and storage spaces, windows of varying sizes punctuate each room, offering unfettered views of the untouched coastline just a few steps away.
Unfinished spruce class the interior of Le Refuge KE01.
Leaving the home to its bare essentials made room for sunlight to drench every corner.
Inside, the home has a nest-like quality with warm spruce lining the walls. Outside, the black timber cloaks the cabin in mystery.
