« The Maroquinerie de la Sormonne project is part of a formerly cultivated natural space, in the heart of a region with a rural and forest tradition. Against the backdrop of a tree-lined valley and reed beds sheltering the nests and broods of marsh birds, time seems to have stood still like a painting by Renoir. In this unspoilt natural environment, the project offers a contemplative immersion within a large horizontal house, whose ‘folded’ design forms a new canopy of wood, a topography sheltering an artisan village. This reference to the symbolism of the house, a place of life but also a place of history, of heritage, of family transmission, its inscription in the surrounding nature, and the challenge of revisiting the archetypal workshop and reinventing the work environment guided the whole conception of the project. By creating an architecture with simple volumes and transforming the traditional design of the shed roof in an unprecedented way, we imagined for Hermès the future of the production workshop: timeless, bioclimatic architecture to enhance the well-being of its occupants. »
Thomas Coldefy and Isabel Van Haute
