She does not go unnoticed. In a residential area of Guichainville, in the Eure, Bernard Giraudeau’s house clashes with the surrounding houses. Entirely clad in wood, its multiple south-facing windows and its dark brown walls bordering on red contrast with the neighboring white houses, with their more conventional architecture.
Former SVT teacher now retired, Bernard Giraudeau waited many years before being able to see his project for an independent house emerge from the ground, the doors of which he agreed to open to the camera of 20 minutes. “I got divorced in 2008, and at that time I decided to put some money I had aside with the idea of one day being able to finance the construction of a house that would would be in line with my values,” he recalls. Because this 63-year-old retiree is also a seasoned environmental activist, member of the environmental movement Alternatiba in Evreux for several years.
“I will be a centenarian in this house”
In 2015, four years before retiring, he embarked on the design of his future home, accompanied by two architects, after finding the perfect land for his project. Six months later, work begins, which will finally be completed at the end of 2016. “I really wanted to bring my values into line with my way of life,” he explains.
Follower of small eco-consumption tricks, Bernard Giraudeau favored the recovery of materials to furnish the different rooms of his economical house with his 200 euros annual energy bill, against 2,000 euros for a standard house of equal size. He cultivates his garden in permaculture and travels by bicycle or electric car. “It’s the project of a lifetime, and it’s my project. I have already decided that I will be a centenarian in this house, I feel so good there, ”he assures.