The Colonnade House / Atelier Messaoudi Architects

Text description provided by the architects. The “colonnade house” was designed for a son wishing to offer an adapted living space to his parents previously living on the first floor of the family house, from which access to the garden was difficult for them. The project is situated in Tipasa, 50 km west of Algiers, in a dense neighborhood. The site is surrounded by family houses and is characterized by the presence of a big pecan tree. Despite the huge plot, our client’s parents, one of them being a disabled person, were confined to the first floor of the familial house, and kept away from the garden, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, with limited social and familial interactions. This “colonnade house” aims at spatial fluidity, while proposing protected interior spaces and exterior areas that can be used all year long.

The house’s envelope is designed to offer physical and direct visual contact with the exterior, through horizontal and vertical openings, which gives the impression of an open and closed house at the same time. Its architecture opens with subtlety, and offers around the house different atmospheres, according to the orientation. Also used by the family members, a house is a welcoming place while ensuring the privacy of its occupants and the possibility for the elderly to retire to a quiet place when they wish. The volumetry is simple but results from a complex process. The relationship with the exterior is facilitated, without opting for a radical solution of huge openings or an entirely glazed facade, which would not have been adapted to the climate and the needs of an Algerian family.

The colonnaded gallery protects the house during different climatic conditions and becomes an additional space that is used by the family for circulation, reception, and dining. The main rooms are oriented south and overlook the big garden. The secondary spaces are at the back, on the north, where there is a second garden and an outdoor kitchen with a terrace. The spaces are designed according to the standards and requirements of disabled persons. The exchange between the interior and the exterior is favored by the presence of windows and French windows in all living spaces, allowing visual breakthroughs in different directions, and positioning to give views of the garden from lying or sitting positions. Wooden shutters protect the spaces from undesired sunlight.

During summer and winter, the interior spaces of the house benefit from cross ventilation, to offer optimal comfort to its occupants. The interior spaces benefit from sober and warm decorations. The materials, the furniture, and the carpentry are made locally, by the region’s artisans. Between opening and closing, vegetal and mineral, exposure, and protection, this contemporary single-story house blends into its environment. Its spaces are accessible to everyone, especially seniors with reduced mobility while being adapted to the climate and culture of the Algerian family. The Colonnade House has been shortlisted in the Arab Architects Awards 2022, Category Private Housing.