Category: Architecture

Saint Jean Cap Ferrat

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The Poetics of Wabi-Sabi

An Introspective Approach to Place

Located in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, 24 Denis Semeria reinterprets the local architectural language through a Wabi-Sabi architecture villa approach. The design focuses on simplicity, imperfection, and the passage of time rather than visual display. Natural materials such as stone, lime plaster, and wood define the overall atmosphere, giving the house a sense of weight and quiet presence. The house does not demand attention, it invites reflection.

Transforming Subtle Views into Experience

Although the property offers only partial views of the Mediterranean, the contemporary Provençal architecture uses this limitation as a strength. Openings, terraces, and a carefully designed garden frame small, controlled views of the sea, sky, and vegetation. This creates a sense of discovery rather than direct exposure. Volumes are arranged to balance openness and enclosure, while light is guided across surfaces to highlight texture and depth. The result is a house where perception is shaped gradually, through light, shadow, and material presence.

Spaces Designed for Calm and Continuity

Inside, the villa maintains a sense of fullness without excess. Rooms are defined by natural materials and simple forms, creating a calm and grounded environment. Stone, aged timber, and soft fabrics bring warmth and tactility to each space. Furniture remains low and understated, allowing materials to take focus. Everyday spaces from the living room and kitchen to bedrooms and work areas are designed to support both daily routines and quiet moments of reflection. Each area feels connected, forming a continuous spatial experience shaped by proportion, texture, and light.

Luxury Through Restraint and Authenticity

The outdoor areas extend the same design logic. Terraces, the swimming pool, and the surrounding landscape are composed using local stone, reflective water, and natural elements such as an olive tree. These features create a strong connection between interior and exterior spaces, allowing them to function as one environment. The house expresses the idea of a restrained luxury villa, where comfort and refinement come from material honesty rather than visual excess. 24 Denis Semeria ultimately brings together imperfection, calmness, and everyday living into a coherent architectural experience that feels both intimate and deeply rooted in its context.

Nice

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Living Architecture on the Mediterranean Edge

A Corten Envelope in Dialogue with the Landscape

Located on the slopes of Mont Boron along Boulevard Carnot in Nice, the villa overlooks the Mediterranean with sweeping views toward the port lighthouse and the coastline beyond. Its architecture is defined by a corten steel envelope that wraps the house in a warm, mineral skin. Unlike static materials, corten evolves over time, changing with the Riviera’s shifting light, rain, and sea air. The building constantly transforms with its environment.

The metallic shell contrasts with large glazed openings that frame the sea and landscape. This dialogue between weight and transparency shapes the architectural identity of the house.

Transparency and Vertical Connection

During construction, an unexpected moment reshaped the design. While the upper floor was still unfinished, a temporary platform revealed an extraordinary perspective across the landscape. Rather than losing this view, the project evolved to include a glass floor suspended between the living room and the main bedroom.

This transparent surface preserves the original double-height space while establishing a strong visual link between levels. Mirrors and a ceiling fresco extend the visual perspective of the space, amplifying the surrounding panorama and creating the sensation of being immersed within the landscape itself.

Spaces Oriented Toward the Horizon

The organization of the villa follows a vertical sequence shaped by the Mediterranean panorama. The main living spaces, including the living room and dining area, occupy the principal level and open widely toward the sea. Above, the master suite and its adjoining office are positioned on the upper floor, where the glass walkway captures an even broader perspective of the coastline.

Below, the garden level contains three guest bedrooms opening onto terraces and landscaped areas, while the basement integrates a cinema room, gym, spa, and technical facilities.

Despite the extensive openness toward the sea, privacy is carefully orchestrated throughout the house. Sliding screens, adjustable shutters, and integrated blinds allow spaces to shift easily between openness and discretion, ensuring both panoramic views and complete intimacy when required

The Roof Terrace as a Fifth Façade

To preserve the limited green areas of the plot, the swimming pool was positioned on the roof terrace. This decision transforms the roof into an architectural landscape. The glass-sided pool allows water to remain visible from outside while maintaining generous interior ceiling heights below.

Access to the roof terrace is integrated through a motorized mirrored glass skylight that opens above the interior staircase. When closed, the reflective surface blends into the architecture, preserving visual continuity while discreetly connecting the living space to the rooftop pool.

Pergolas, planters, and seating areas structure the rooftop terrace and create visual separation from neighboring properties.

At the edge of the pool, a slender corten steel diver sculpture stands as a symbolic gesture. Its form echoes the material of the façade and expresses the daring idea of diving into a glass pool suspended above the Mediterranean.

A Dialogue with Nature and Memory

Two century-old pine trees and a small historic chapel were carefully preserved during the demolition and reconstruction of the site. These elements create a powerful dialogue between contemporary architecture and the memory of the landscape.

Terraced gardens weave around the house at multiple levels, softening the corten façade while filtering views toward the road and reinforcing the visual connection with the sea. The presence of these historic elements anchors the project within the site’s history while framing the contemporary architecture.

Through its evolving materials, adaptable spaces, and continuous dialogue with its surroundings, the project becomes a living architecture. The house changes with light, weather, and time, evolving alongside those who inhabit it.

Moments from the construction phase:

Saint Jean Cap Ferrat

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The Poetics of Legacy and Modernity

Architecture Rooted in Memory and Place

Aurora is set on the cliffs of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, overlooking wide Mediterranean views. The project begins with a strong respect for what already exists on the site, its history, its views, and traces of earlier structures. Rather than starting from limitations, the design responds to these layers, shaping a home that reflects both memory and future living. The clients wanted a residence that could preserve this connection while expressing a cosmopolitan luxury villa design. The result is a villa that feels both grounded in its past and open to a more global architectural language.

Balancing Global Codes with Local Sensitivity

Aurora combines elements of international luxury with a careful response to its Mediterranean setting. The design focuses on proportion, light, and alignment rather than excess. Four en suite bedrooms are positioned to capture views and daylight, creating a natural rhythm between openness and privacy. Interior finishes, including custom detailing and contemporary moldings, are selected to reflect both the client’s taste and the architectural identity of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Vertical movement becomes part of the experience through cylindrical glass lifts, while spaces like the second salon and playroom introduce moments of leisure within a structured framework.

A Composition of Movement and Views

The villa’s layout extends outward, connecting interior spaces with terraces, gardens, and the horizon. The swimming pool is aligned with the house, framing direct views of the sea and acting as a central visual anchor. Outdoor areas are designed as an extension of the architecture, where planted and mineral elements create a continuous flow between levels. A striking Poseidon bronze introduces a sense of monumental yet intimate architecture, balancing scale with human experience. At the same time, features such as a high-tech garage, gym, spa, and service areas are carefully integrated, ensuring functionality remains discreet and efficient.

Precision, Light, and Lasting Presence

Every surface and detail in Aurora is designed to respond to light and perspective. Façades, terraces, and reflective materials are carefully positioned to create changing visual experiences throughout the day. The project balances strong visual presence with restraint, ensuring that no single element overwhelms the composition. Aurora ultimately expresses the principles of poetic contemporary architecture, where design is both thoughtful and livable. It stands as a dialogue between past and present, offering a refined architectural response that connects landscape, history, and daily life into one cohesive experience.

Auron

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The Monkeys Cabana

Auron, France | Luxury Mountain Chalet

Project Overview

Located at 1,600 meters in the alpine resort of Auron in the French Alps, The Monkeys Cabana is a private luxury chalet in Auron designed by Joe Aoun. Its contemporary alpine architecture is paired with a carefully curated interior inspired by early 20th-century references.

Architecture & Site Strategy

Built on the final plot of its development and surrounded by existing constructions, the chalet elevates its main living spaces above visual constraints, opening views toward the Mercantour National Park, Isola 2000, and the Italian Alps.

A stone base grounds the lower levels, while Jura larch wood defines the upper floors, reducing perceived height and reinforcing a contemporary alpine identity.

Interior Curation & Heritage Pieces

The interior is conceived as a collected space rather than a decorated one. Early 20th-century furniture and objects sourced from Paris and Beirut flea markets shape the identity of the chalet and introduce depth, history, and character.

Key elements include a restored Hermès boutique cabinet, vintage game tables, reworked armchairs, and a 1930s bar with a mirrored back, each selected for its authenticity and integration within the architecture. These pieces inform the interior palette, influencing accent tones, textures, and spatial rhythm throughout the chalet.

Materials & Atmosphere

Material continuity reinforces the dialogue between old and new. Reclaimed Belgian wood flooring was adapted to modern insulation and underfloor heating, while local stone extends from the exterior into staircases and interior walls. Tinted larch wood appears on ceilings, built-ins, and headboards, establishing a warm and cohesive alpine atmosphere.

A subtle monkey motif runs throughout the interiors, offering a narrative thread without overt repetition. This playful presence gives the chalet its name, “The Monkeys Cabana,” introducing a light and unexpected identity within an otherwise refined alpine setting.

In the pool area, this narrative becomes more expressive through a large-scale mural created by two Lebanese artists. Extending from the walls to the ceiling, the artwork reinterprets the monkey theme with a bold, contemporary gesture, adding depth and contrast to the otherwise restrained material palette.

Living & Wellness Spaces

The main living level is designed around evening life after skiing. Dining, kitchen, and lounge areas are open and connected, encouraging shared moments.

The entry level introduces a more functional sequence, integrating ski storage, changing areas, and an indoor pool. Designed for direct return from the slopes, this level combines practicality with a strong architectural presence, shaped by material continuity and controlled lighting.

The top floor is dedicated to the master suite and a spa set beneath the exposed roof structure. A sauna and jacuzzi are integrated into this level, with roof windows and visual connections to the double-height living space below.

The Monkeys Cabana reflects JA Architecture’s approach to luxury interiors: a balance of heritage pieces, material integrity, and a curated narrative that extends beyond architecture.

Moments from the construction phase:

Saint Jean Cap Ferrat

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Curved Architecture Shaped by Topography

Architecture Shaped by the Land

Lanis stands on a steep plot in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, replacing a former mid-century house with a design generated directly from the land. Developed with complete creative freedom, the project follows the site’s contour lines, the coastal road alignment, and the compact mineral ground as its primary drivers.

A single continuous curve begins at street level and extends through the plan toward the pool terrace, where the architecture reaches its full expression. This luxury villa in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is defined by topography rather than frontage. Its geometry feels anchored, as if drawn directly from the terrain.

A Continuous Curved Plan

The curve defines both form and experience. Circulation flows without abrupt angles, ceilings rise in gentle arcs, and curved glazing opens wide views toward the garden and the Mediterranean horizon. A subtle horizontal shift between two identical volumes creates a sheltered entrance below and a terrace above, establishing depth through proportion rather than ornament.

This logic extends beyond the exterior form, shaping interior walls, ceilings, and spatial transitions with the same continuity. Movement through the house remains fluid and intuitive, connecting arrival, living areas, and private spaces in a continuous sequence. Within the landscape of high-end residential architecture in France, the geometry remains calm, controlled, and livable, an inhabitable architecture shaped by movement and use.

Glass Façade and Material Continuity

Material selection reinforces this clarity. The façade is predominantly glazed, allowing the architecture to remain visually light while expressing the fluid geometry of the volumes. Horizontal bands clad in white marble frame the glass envelope, precisely cut to follow each curve and installed as a ventilated system. Light moves across these surfaces throughout the day, revealing the building’s changing character.

Inside, oak parquet and marble flooring meet along clean lines, while timber-lined ceilings soften the mineral structure. Fully curved sliding and operable glazing dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior, allowing terraces and living spaces to function as one cohesive environment shaped by Mediterranean light.

Living and Exterior Sequence

The villa is organized as a continuous sequence of living spaces oriented toward the landscape. Reception areas extend toward the pool terrace, reinforcing the direct relationship between interior and exterior.

At the end of the architectural curve, the pool becomes a central element of the composition, extending the geometry into the open horizon. A dedicated poolhouse complements the main volume, integrating spa functions including sauna, hammam, and massage areas. This secondary structure expands the living experience, allowing wellness and outdoor life to unfold as a natural extension of the architecture.

Excavation and Integrated Access

Behind this fluidity lies rigorous construction. Excavation into the dense Cap-Ferrat rock allowed the creation of a peripheral technical void around the basement, ensuring durability over time and protection from humidity.

Vehicular access is resolved discreetly through a concealed lift at street level, finished with the same material as the roadway to remain invisible when closed. Below, a rotating platform allows vehicles to maneuver efficiently within the constrained site, preserving both landscape continuity and spatial coherence.

Lanis expresses a disciplined architectural approach where curve, material, and light remain in balance, a contemporary coastal residence shaped by its site and designed for a precise and continuous living experience.

Check the progress below:

Lanis onsite
Lanis onsite

Nice

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Balancing Heritage and Intervention

Restoration Through Removal

La Rotonde sits on the ridge of Mont Boron in Nice, overlooking the Mediterranean with a wide, uninterrupted panorama. For many years, the original circular structure was hidden behind a later villa that disrupted both its visibility and spatial clarity. The project begins with removal. By demolishing the secondary building, the historic rotunda regains its presence and legibility. A new villa is set further back on the site, allowing the original structure to stand independently once again. The intervention reshapes the terrain with restraint rather than adding volume.

Circular Geometry and Spatial Continuity

The circular geometry determines the internal organization of the Rotonde. Originally conceived as a reception and concert space, its plan avoids hierarchy; the center and perimeter hold equal importance. The restoration carefully reinstates architectural elements such as columns, alcoves, and mouldings, guided by archival research and on-site study. Structural upgrades and contemporary systems are introduced discreetly, without altering the spatial perception. The aim is not reinterpretation, but continuity – enabling residential use while preserving formal integrity.

A Contemporary Villa in Dialogue

The new villa references the rotunda through gentle curvature at its edges and terraces, without imitating its form. Its glass façade with big windows was chosen to blend into the vegetation of Mont Boron, reducing visual impact within the landscape. Facing west, the building incorporates vertically rotating and sliding shutters that control sunlight and frame selective sea views. Interior finishes remain restrained and material-led, allowing proportion and natural light to shape daily living rather than decorative emphasis.

Technical Constraints and Site Response

The site presents considerable logistical challenges, as there is no direct vehicular access. Demolition, restoration, and construction were therefore carried out via the upper pedestrian route, influencing both planning and detailing. The project ultimately establishes a dialogue between two volumes – one historic, one contemporary – each distinct yet geometrically aligned. Rather than seeking contrast, the architecture restores clarity to the original structure and introduces a balanced coexistence rooted in respect and precision.