In Le Havre, Wienerberger is supporting the renovation of a residence that reconciles contemporary architecture and heritage.

Supplied by Wienerberger, it envelops the building from the facades to the roof, giving rise to a monolithic volume, worked in detail, where reliefs, patterns and assembly games compose a chiseled facade.

A residence combining modernity and rich heritage

A true bridge through time, the Limmat residence is situated in an area marked by a strong heritage and industrial identity. The project marks the starting point of a vast urban renewal program in a neighborhood destined for transformation.

To complement this evolution, the architects chose to retain the dimensions of the old buildings while asserting a contemporary style. The project thus finds a balance between respecting the Le Havre context and a renewed architectural expression.

Brick emerged as the central material in this approach. Typical of pre-war Le Havre, it allows us to link local building history with contemporary intervention.

A monolithic envelope made of hand-molded brick

At the Limmat residence, brick is not merely a facing material. It envelops the building, rising from the facades and extending onto the roof, following the oblique lines of the sections punctuated by terraces and walkways. This architectural choice asserts the building's presence and serves another key ambition of the project: a sculpted facade. On this monolithic volume with its pleated surface, the details of the motifs and decorations stand out with elegance and subtlety.

Within recessed rectangular brick frames that punctuate the façade, the openings are set at varying sizes. Decorative brickwork in relief, reminiscent of mashrabiya screens, creates small rectangles that take on star shapes at certain times of day, depending on the light that filters through them. The monolithic volume thus transforms throughout the day, thanks to the interplay of shadow, relief, and texture.

Two shades of terracotta to distinguish the volumes

The residence consists of two distinct volumes, separated by a large gap that houses the shared staircase. Both are clad in bricks with similar, but intentionally different, patterns and colors.

The main building is clad in a light beige-grey terracotta with a slightly pinkish hue (Forum brick in Prata color), a shade that echoes the concrete of post-war buildings in Le Havre. For the smaller vertical volume, the architects chose a darker brick, Pragus in Grey. This choice also serves as a nod to a previous project completed on the same street, just a few doors down.

According to Benoît Andrier, associate architect at Sterenn Architectes: “Brick was the obvious choice for this project, firstly because it's typical of pre-war Le Havre, and secondly because it offers numerous possibilities in terms of decoration, relief, and interplay of elements. Here, the design relies on the meticulous work of the brick, the recesses, the patterns, the angles... We have a unique material, but one that's worked in such a way as to create a beautiful energy and a real vibrancy on the façade. We chose a hand-molded finish because we love the fact that each brick is different. This makes the architecture much softer and warmer than with industrial brick. We've completed several projects in Le Havre and have always chosen this type of brick, whether solid, molded, or thin. Another advantage of terracotta is that it's a durable material that ages well and can last 150 years without needing any maintenance.” For this project, we were able to count on Wienerberger's support from the design phase on the technical aspects, particularly for the roof brickwork reversal, which deviates from standard construction practices and for which we had to obtain an Atex certification. We are very satisfied with the final result.

• Architect: Sterenn Architecture
• Project owner: Alcéane; Bouygues Construction
• Products: Forum bricks in Prata color and Pragus bricks in Grey color
• Quantity: 35.000 bricks