The steep hillsides of Tourrettes-sur-Loup have been inhabited for centuries. Over time, restanques, the retaining walls allowing to create horizontal surfaces and terraces, have become a distinctive feature of the area’s environment. Villa C is designed as an inhabitable restanque. A retaining wall is extended toward the valley to create a courtyard, tucked away between the house and the topography.

The intimate volumes of the bedrooms are used as supporting structures for a large overhanging roof, which frames the magnificent valley view and provides shade.

The windows can be fully retracted into the walls, allowing the fresh mountain breeze to flow through the house. Aside from carrying cool air, the wind also brings the wonderful scents of the orange trees, thyme and lavender that grow here. Dry stone walls, rooftiles, and timber structures from the traditional local architecture have inspired a setting for a contemporary Provençal lifestyle.