This Tiny Home in the South of France Is a Minimalist Masterpiece

When I think of the South of France, here’s what I picture: sprawling, pristine vineyards. Centuries-old chateaus, regal and immense and charming beyond imagination. My four-month-old nephew crying incessantly next to me in the back of a Citroen while his parents bickered in the front seat during a particularly stressful day of driving on a family trip to Provence. Also, good cheese. And, sadly, Russell Crowe.

What doesn’t come to mind is a compact, stark white vision of geometric minimalism. But that’s exactly what French architecture firm ARTELABO have concocted in the tiny village of Gignac.

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Dubbed the “Quiet House” by its designers, the home was devised to fit on a small plot of land between an in-use vineyard shed and a neighbour’s parking area.

At once a contrast and homage to the traditional constructions that largely populate the village — some of which date back as far as the 13th century — the diminutive abode utilizes typical Southern French building materials (masonry, plaster and tiled roofs) in a distinctly modern context.

The house is structured around three open-air courtyards, which allows for some serious natural light to pour inside through a series of sliding glass doors. A massive window in the living area, meanwhile, reveals a panoramic view of the breathtaking French countryside in the valley below.

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Given its alluring contemporary aesthetic and inherent tranquility, this place is almost peaceful enough to make me forget my nephew’s unceasing screams on that fateful four-hour drive. [*shudders*] Almost.

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Photography: Marie-Caroline Lucat