A contemporary residential project in Mortagne-sur-Sèvre, France, demonstrates how modern architecture can respectfully integrate with historic structures. The Chapel MI Residence, designed by Atelier Ose Architecture and completed in 2025, features a carefully planned extension that works in harmony with an existing stone chapel and other heritage buildings on the 49-square-meter site.
The project is strategically positioned between the Clos Saint-Martin housing estate and the historic village center, with architects paying careful attention to the site's historical context. The property hosts a collection of older buildings constructed gradually over time, with a notable stone chapel serving as the primary anchor structure that influenced the entire design approach.
The architectural solution creates a measured sequence that connects garden, terrace, and interior rooms through a thoughtful combination of glass and timber elements. The new volumes are elevated on stilts, allowing them to follow the natural slope of the land while opening toward the wooded hillside and the Sèvre Nantaise river below. This design strategy calibrates the relationship between old and new, inside and garden, and near and distant views.
The interior layout begins with a reception vestibule featuring glazed panels on both sides, creating transparency toward the garden. A glazed gallery connects directly to an outdoor terrace, leading to an office space that offers unique panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. The sequence culminates in a spacious dining area with its own independent entrance, providing flexibility for the residents.
The extension sits on a wooden frame and stilts, riding the land's natural fall rather than requiring extensive grading or cutting. Like treehouses, three fragmented suspended volumes each serve dedicated functions while touching the ground lightly and maintaining natural flow beneath them. This approach creates a striking contrast with the solid masses of the historic buildings while respecting their presence.
The openwork wood cladding reveals portions of the original stone structures, allowing the architectural heritage to show through the contemporary addition. Single-sloped roofs lift at each end, tipping the rooms toward the broad landscape view. Generous anthracite aluminum bay windows frame views of the hillside and the Sèvre Nantaise river below, ensuring that orientation becomes an integral part of the architectural plan rather than an afterthought.
Each connection point respects the chapel and adjacent structures, keeping them intact while threading daily circulation routes from hall to gallery, gallery to office, and office to dining area, with the garden always remaining within reach. In the evening, shadows animate the wood cladding, and the stilts cast crisp silhouettes against the landscape. From the terrace, the architectural sequence feels serene, clear, and perfectly tuned to both the natural slope and the surrounding views, creating a harmonious dialogue between contemporary living and historic preservation.
