Renovation of a 1970s House by the Sea: Pitched Roofs, Bold Geometry and Colour in a Contemporary Interpretation

What is known about the project

This is a renovation of a detached 1970s house located in a residential area close to the sea. The project is by Terres terres studio. According to the original source, the concept draws on characteristic features of local architecture: pitched roofs, bold geometric forms and colour accents. These motifs are reinterpreted in a contemporary idiom — that is, the recognisable local code is preserved but read anew, without literal quotation.

Architectural logic

Work with postwar and late-modernist housing by the sea is almost always based on a compromise between preserving a recognisable silhouette and bringing the house up to current requirements. In this context, a pitched roof is not only a formal device: it is both a climatic element and a way of fitting the volume into the scale of the surrounding development. The geometric character of the facades and the accent colour, in turn, give the house individuality without conflict with its neighbouring environment.

*Professional context (not from the original source):* for coastal areas, the durability of the building envelope, resistance to salt air and wind loads, as well as the quality of thermal insulation and the airtightness of the envelope, are critical. Renovation is a more resource-intensive and more environmentally friendly path compared with demolition: the carbon already “embedded” in the existing structures is preserved.

Why this is interesting

The case is indicative as an example of careful adaptation rather than replacement: the local typology — pitched roof, clear geometric volume, colour — becomes the starting point for a contemporary solution. For the market, it is a signal that the potential for renewing the housing stock of the 1960s–1970s is realised through the language of form, rather than through standardisation.

What remains unknown

The original source does not disclose the area of the house, the set of structural solutions, the materials used or the engineering systems. Therefore, it would be premature to draw conclusions about technologies and energy efficiency — the material should be considered primarily as an architectural and compositional reference point.