Renovation Maison Nierlé

In 1960, architect Edouard Nierlé bought the plot of land located in the small village of Veyrier at the foot of Mount Salève. Back then, the piece of land still accommodated an old forge built of natural stone. Given the cramped situation of the plot, Nierlé opted to rebuild the existing structure. He kept the original foundations and walls, and found an original solution for the many remaining stones from the facade. The rest of the stones in the masonry were salvaged and cast in concrete, adorning the facade to this day.

Indoors, the architect realised surprising and original room concepts, too, expressing the avant-garde influences of his time. The exposed concrete elements combined with wood and linoleum flooring typical for the period give the different levels a unique character that still look contemporary.

Around half a century later, Edouard Nierlé’s granddaughter Charlotte took over the house and carried out its extensive and bold renovation. As part of it, she focussed on authenticity, in preserving the original appearance of the house. For example, the doors and cabinets created for this project are reproductions of the original designs by the architect’s grandfather.

Parquet flooring was installed in order to visually separate the lower section of the living room and the master bedroom from the rest of the ground floor, which adds a warmer tone to all of it. Our Villapark 1-strip planks were used as a design element and as a deliberate contrast to the typical architecture of the 1960s, filling the selected spaces with natural warmth.