L'Arpète, Trivalle Street.

L'Arpète is above all a story of architecture, a story of craftsmanship… a story of passion. This townhouse, originally a modest home, is located in the heart of Rue Trivalle with its restaurants, bars and shops, a 500 m walk from the medieval city of Carcassonne. Push the door and let yourself be told this story of architecture through the creations of Gauthier, your host and the craftsman of this unique project. The space A place of unique creations... Everything here is done by hand, from the smallest parquet flooring to the switches, from the small decorative piece to the large architectural elements. Gauthier is the architect, designer and above all the craftsman of this place. The sum of the techniques and trades is colossal to arrive at creating this unique place in the smallest details… the Arpète meaning in a slightly pejorative way the apprentice. But the approach is not focused on technique, it responds above all to a need for creative expression that has guided, for ten years, the development of the Arpète. A need to cultivate a form of raw and romantic architecture… an ab initio architecture. Initially, the Arpète was a very modest house in a modest part of the city. It is a small half-timbered house, inherited from the post-medieval era, a cramped place only 3 meters wide… in short, an architectural challenge. "It was obvious to confront a contemporary architecture marked by the metal frame and the shuttered concrete of the ground floor with the restoration of the half-timbering of the upper levels." The area of about 80 m2 is spread over two and a half levels, with a final attic room, offering a peaceful moment of reading in front of the jeweler's workbench. The ground floor is an open, long and narrow space, where the kitchen extends into a dining area made entirely of black Corian that gives way to the living room. The sofa, handmade and upholstered in velvet from Romo's Black Edition house, will offer you stunning views of the imposing 6m-high steel canopy that covers the entire north facade. Finally, you have access to a small 15 m2 outdoor courtyard, fitted with benches and ideal for a summer nap without being overlooked. Here the work of the stone and plaster echoes the vertical and "very 19th century" lines of the glass roof. You will also find in the entrance, toilets cleverly concealed behind a flush door... which sets the tone, from the entrance, of an architecture guided by the work of steel and metals. The hidden stringer staircase is a feat of finesse and visual lightness in this narrow place where, however, nothing stands in the way. It leads to the first floor where you will find the 2 bedrooms, the bathroom and the staircase leading to the top floor. When you get to the floor, enjoy the work done on the hexagonal parquet, the reproduction of the lithograph by the Japanese artist Katsu Yusa, the white ebony marquetry. Here again the doors with hidden frames invite contemplation. The first bedroom has a 160 cm queen size bed, it has its own independent bathroom and overlooks the glass roof and courtyard. In this room bathed in natural light, the metal work is centered on the mirror-polished stainless steel that blends with the White Onyx Corian, the white ash of the furniture and the entirely handmade oak parquet. The second bedroom has a 140 cm double bed, it opens directly onto Rue Trivalle, you will again find handmade parquet, raw steel and Marquina black marble. A darker and more soothing atmosphere accentuated by the rest of the furniture which is made of exotic woods. Find the hidden switch in the closet and appreciate the vertical lines and the marriage of exotic wood and brass. Between the two bedrooms, a bathroom with toilet gives way to the expression of a work centered on brass. The shower fittings are hand-machined and the brass-lined wall creates a warm light sensation. A panoramic reproduction of a watercolor by ceramic artist Kyra Kane cleverly conceals a washer-dryer. Returning to the ground floor, take a fresh look at the kitchen and let yourself be carried away by the rhythm of the architectural lines. The steel & brass fusion chandelier began its patina work and ends in an exclamation mark. The kitchen hood is the result of stamping research, with custom-made dies. The veining of the kitchen facades runs from bottom to top, it is one and the same tree, a brown oak from Burgundy, which has been completely unfolded.