Bancaù Architectes’ approach to the construction of this artisanal bakery learns from the client’s motto and the way they make bread.

Taking advantage of the resources, the craftsmanship and revealing it in the work.

Jean Christophe and Thibault, father and son, decided to put aside their respective experiences to design an organic bakery with convictions that the architects share: using the most natural and fresh products.

In the raw ground floor of a new building, their wish of having an authentic bakery without unnecessary actions wasn’t easy. This is why our discussion firstly focussed on materials, which from the architects’ point of view need to be crafted by the hands and tools of the workers.

The reflection has rapidly turned around three elements: raw earth plaster, terra cotta and wood.

The use of bio-based materials encourages architects and craftsmen to immerse themselves in skills that have been forgotten and erased by the modern era.

Standardisation, rentability and the velocity of the process takes us away from traditional and durable techniques.

The idea is not to reinvent everything but to take advantage of what we know is efficient and combine it with the contemporary aesthetic codes.

Spatially, the project offers a radical simple reading of the different parts of the program. On the foreground, an accessible public foreground with the retail and lunch, and a background exposing the various tools of the baker.

Organised around a central masterpiece oven, visual landmark of the bakery.

For the authors, this project is also a story based on the unwavering confidence of the clients in their practice. The deeply enthusiastic father and son were always pushing Bancaù Architectes in their creativity.