French studio Java Architecture has renovated and extended a ruined stone house in Paris with a wooden tower that is clad in polycarbonate panels.
Nestled in a courtyard on a narrow site off the busy Rue du Commerce in Paris, the dwelling, called Staying in Paris, is designed for a family who wanted to live in the French capital while avoiding its rising house prices.
Staying in Paris is a residential extension and conversion by Java Architecture
Local studio Java Architecture was approached for the project in 2017 after the clients had bought the house "in ruins", uncertain of whether they could secure permission to develop it.
"After a quick chat on the phone we realised that this family just bought a pile of old stone without knowing if they would be able or allowed to do something to it," said the studio. The home is clad in polycarbonate panels
"For us the client was either completely crazy or a genius, and without knowing the correct answer we decided to take part in this adventure," it explained.
Java Architecture decided to retain the shell of the existing stone building but expanded it upwards with three additional storeys to create a six-by-four-metre tower.
Its new structure contrasts an original stone building on the site
Due to the ruined condition of the existing structure the new building needed to be as light as possible, which led the studio to use wood for the new structural elements.
To celebrate its contrast to the stone, t...