The house is integrated in a historical neighbourhood on the site of a former Victorian residence. The project pays homage to the original century-old house by showcasing a selection of recycled objects at the heart of the new residence. The design is based on two principal ideas. The layout of the ground floor is organized according to a series of openings or gateways that run parallel to the street. These gateways—like lock gates (les écluses) on a canal—orchestrate a progression from public to private spaces through a succession of expanded and compressed volumes. The bedrooms on the upper floor, like the wooden hull of a boat, rest on these brick gateways through the support of cantilever beams spanning the length of the envelope.