Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Sep 06, 2025

An Angular Black Cabin in Coastal France Honors the Bucolic Landscape

An Angular Black Cabin in Coastal France Honors the Bucolic Landscape

The 850-square-foot cabin in France’s northwestern Brittany region sits on raised platforms that allow the surrounding ecosystem to prosper.

Steps from the sea in a forested area protected by a circle of towering cypresses, the hustle of everyday life quickly melts away inside a small, wooden retreat in France’s northwestern Brittany region.



Architect Anne Gayet and her husband, Aldric Gayet, cofounder of the Bordeaux-based firm Gayet Roger Architectes, hoped to build an idyllic vacation home for their family near the dunes of Keremma. Together, Anne, Aldric, and the team at Gayet Roger Architectes created a modest black cabin that integrates into the surrounding landscape. "It is designed as a refuge-a place for rest, relaxation, and contemplation in the middle of nature," says Aldric. While the location was a central draw for the couple, the coastal site leaves the structure at risk of flooding. The architects also felt a sense of responsibility to honor the area’s natural topography.



To protect the cabin from potential flooding and leave the below landscape undisturbed, the team placed the asymmetrical volume on a raised platform supported by four-foot-tall metal stilts. The exterior, clad in cross laminated timber, was painted with a black Falun-style paint-a durable Swedish pigment used on traditional timber cottages and barns throughout Scandinavia-that complements the surrounding trees.

To protect the cabin from potential flooding and leave the below landscape undisturbed, the team placed the asymmetrical volume on a raised platform supported by four-foot-tall metal stilts. The exterior, clad in cross laminated timber, was painted with a black Falun-style paint-a durable Swedish pigment used on traditional timber cottages and barns throughout Scandinavia-that complements the surrounding trees.



For the interior of cabin, dubbed Le Refuge KE01, the team focused on function. The warm, spruce-clad living spaces are "reduced to the essential and leave no room for the superfluous," explain the architects.



Rough sawn wood panels were also used for the walls, built-in benches, dining table, shelving, and counters. A wooden walkway connects the entrance of the cabin to a small path that leads to the beach.



Throughout the home, strategically placed openings encourage moments of respite. A large window frames the pastoral scenery from a corner seating nook on the first level. Upstairs, the four sleeping areas feature small windows that offer the residents landscape views at eye level when they’re lying down. Each of the bedrooms can accommodate two twin beds, with a built-in bench lining one wall and a storage area occupying the other.



At the end of the day, the dark exterior of the 850-square-foot cabin melts into the night sky-save for the lights that glow through the windows like suspended lanterns.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×