Based in Bordeaux, French architect and photographer Theo C. Domini has turned an old stone building in the city’s historic Sacré Coeur district into his personal (tiny) home and workshop. Restructured in such a way that underlines its raw elements, lack of adornment and archaism of its materials, the redone ruin’s interiors were kept as austere and minimalist as the structure itself, in Domini’s bid to create a space that “encourages users to re-examine their own notion of comfort disregarded from luxury.”
Dubbed the Stone House, the home uses a material palette of graying woods, oxidised pieces and eroded stone. It is kept bare of superfluousness, furnished sparsely yet elegantly with a monastic table in solid walnut, a bench, a white street stretched across to project films, and leather seats. The kitchen is separated from the living area by a plain black partition, kept low so as to not hamper the views of the wooden staircase, the mezzanine propped up on wood beams, and the original fireplace.
Backlighting features throughout the property, illuminating the solid brick inside the home, or the brick walls that border the garden. Natural light penetrates its heavy exterior through the narrow openings and a skylight fitted along the sloping roof.
Celebrating the beauty of the shadow, the moody ambience manages to come off as comfortable and peaceful. “The project functions as a place of stripping, one that does not respond to a form of domestic life such as one can find in traditional houses,” says Domini. “This environment, revealed in its most primitive state, introduces people to a new way of reacting, experiencing and understanding.” Consider us impressed!
Theo C. Domini studied architecture and landscaping in Bordeaux, before meetings Japanese photographer Hisao Suzuki who inspired him to seek beauty in the dark. His architectural work is closely linked to photography, creative pursuits that Domini uses to translate perception of thought and consciousness. Follow him on Instagram.
Images © Theo C. Domini / with permission