The result of a collaboration between Mootz-Pele Architectes (headmaster) and Le Local d’architecture (co-contractor), in the heart of the harbour village of Sainte-Marine in South Finistère, a wooden house combining structural simplicity and ingenious integration of bioclimatic systems was delivered in 2024. In a joint interview for ‘A’A’, the two architects discuss their approach to rational architecture. It’s an opportunity to look again at the future of the single-family home, as ‘A’A’ explored in its Winter 2025 issue, The House, Revolutions of a Model.

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Interview by Chloé Carissimi

Can you tell us about the context and the challenges that guided the design of this project?

MOOTZPELÉ: The house project was designed at the request of a couple who had just bought a building plot a stone’s throw from the ocean in the commune of Combrit (Sainte Marine/South Finistère). They wanted a family home that could be used as a second home, but which could also be used as a main home for their retirement. The clients wanted a house that was environmentally friendly, warm and unique. Wood was quickly chosen to meet this demand. The challenge was to come up with a design that would rival a traditional masonry house in terms of time and budget. This problem was solved by designing the programme to be compact, with a ground floor+attic+windows volume, and by adopting a rational construction approach.

How did the collaboration between your two agencies come about?

Le Local d’architecture: Before the creation of Le Local d’architecture, Timothée Fétiveau worked in the Mootz&Pele team as Project Manager. When he was asked to build a detached house in Sainte Marine, Le Local d’architecture had not yet been created, so it was quite natural for him to propose the project to Mootz&Pele.The house was designed by Erik Mootz and Timothée Fétiveau.

At the end of the design phase, Le Local d’architecture was created to support the Mootz&Pele agency during the construction phase.This project is therefore the story of a handover, of a transition from an experienced and recognised agency to a new venture for one of its collaborators.Other partnerships between the two companies are envisaged.

Particular consideration seems to have been given to the materials used on this site. For example, why did you choose Douglas fir for the structure?

MOOTZPELÉ: The volume of the R+Comble+Auvent house is provided by 4 identical porticos set up in parallel. Glued laminated timber made from Douglas fir was the most appropriate material, both from an economic point of view and in terms of static performance.

A lot of criticism has been levelled at the single-family home, denouncing its “ecological nonsense”. In your opinion, is it possible to reconcile a commitment to the environment with a single-family home? And if so, how?

Le Local d’architecture: Representing 56% of housing in France, questioning the model of the detached house is tantamount to questioning the way in which a large part of the population lives. So this issue cannot be resolved simply by banning this type of housing. It is essential to analyse its shortcomings and to see the benefits, under certain conditions, for a sustainable future. The main criticism of the detached house is its consumption of space, leading to the destruction of valuable agricultural and natural areas. We therefore feel it is necessary to make a clear distinction between, on the one hand, the development of housing estates that multiply an alienating standard across the whole territory and concede architecture and urbanity for the sake of maximum economic profitability, and on the other hand, gentle and bioclimatic densification operations within already urbanised areas.

Contrary to the current image of the detached house, the intensification of social and environmental uses through the densification of towns (abandoned land, extension/surplus building, division of plots, wasteland, etc.) even seems to us to be an opportunity in our collective search for resilient habitats, adapted to future climate change. In ‘Retro Surburbia’, David Holmgren demonstrates the ability of the single-family home to enable us to quickly adapt our lifestyles: rainwater harvesting, waste reduction and management on a plot-by-plot basis, respectful management of garden biodiversity, market garden production, simple management of the home’s bioclimatic systems, etc. We believe that the possibilities offered by the single-family home could be part of tomorrow’s solution in certain areas, provided that the environmental impact of any new project is rigorously assessed.

=A sustainable and virtuous habitat would therefore be distinguished in particular by its adaptation to the territory it occupies. Could you give us an example of how you applied this principle when building this house in Brittany?

MOOTZPELÉ: Brittany’s oceanic climate, combined with a project consisting of a large roof, meant that we had to think about the rainwater cycle. The water collected by the roof is channelled into the natural ground to ensure total infiltration on the plot. A recovery tank, a drainage ditch and the conservation of existing plant structures – thanks to the dry system – in the direct vicinity of the site have enabled us to create a project that is relevant to infiltrating rainwater and making it useful.

The idea was to build this house using the characteristics of the area. Perhaps that’s why we decided to work with Le Local d’architecture, an agency whose name reflects this idea. Was it really with sustainability in mind that Le Local d’architecture chose to develop its business locally?

Le Local d’architecture: ‘Being an architect is like being a baker’ [a phrase borrowed from the architect Bernard Quirot, who is committed to demonstrating the virtues of architecture rooted in the local area, editor’s note] is an ethic in itself, a way of serving a community by drawing on the expertise of our day-to-day practice. By developing a local activity, Le Local d’architecture strives to federate a network of public and private players, participating, on our own scale, in its development through frugal project choices. To succeed in the challenge of ‘becoming indigenous’ [the French translation of the essay by American biologist Wes Jackson, editor’s note] is to take part in the development of a new world. means taking part in the everyday life of an area, so that a relationship of mutual trust is established. The reduced hierarchy of local professional and political organisations seems to us to encourage experimentation and the invention of resilient models.

This vision is reflected in the fact that the partners are based in different areas. Setting up ‘in the hollow of the place’ does not mean freezing the company, and we hope to be able to apply this philosophy to other territories through future associations.

In what way, then, could this house in Sainte-Marine represent a new type of detached house that meets the societal and ecological challenges facing architects?

MOOTZPELÉ: We feel that this project meets these challenges in that it offers a relevant solution for effectively offsetting the additional costs associated with the ecological transition (bio-sourced materials and thermal performance) and thus competing with the ‘traditional’ construction of detached houses. This is made possible by the implementation of an ambitious programme that is commonplace in the demand for single-family homes: an entrance hall, service areas, family kitchen, dining room, living room, sanitary facilities, four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a covered terrace, all in a single, very compact volume that is quick and easy to build.

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Maison Marine, Sainte-Marine, Finistère

Programme: Construction of a single-family house
Client: Private individual
Architects : Mootz-Pele Architecte (lead) and Le Local d’architecture (co-contractor)
Surface area: 138 sq.m + 56 sq.m garage
Cost: €440,000 excluding VAT
Calendar: Completed in 2024
Photograph: Aurélien Chen