The most beautiful spots are often deserved. The small town d’Ontexin Savoie, overlooks the Lake Bourget and offers a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. This is the place that a family from the Paris region chose to build their second home on a tenement of 2000 m2. Both its greatest asset and its biggest obstacle, between its steep topographyits rocky terrain, its access, making the passage of machinery and the assembly of the crane difficult, not to mention urban planning constraints and a site subject to the opinion of the Architect of Buildings of France.
The complexity of such a project could have put off more than one person. Houses Alps Savoie had both the equipment and the team to take on such a challenge.
Maisons Alpes Savoie: a third gold medal in the Innovative Habitat Challenge
The builder of individual houses based in Voglans received, on Saturday November 23, the gold medal in the “remarkable builder achievements” category of the Innovative housing challenge 2025 organized by the housing center of the French Building Federation for this project. “We have competed three times, in 2015 in the category “the house and the builder in the city“in 2018 and in 2024 for “notable achievements“and won every time“welcomes Gilles Perrier, sales representative.
Participation in this competition required a year of preparation for putting together the file, a task entrusted to designer Océane Chérouse. “Even if all projects require the same requirements on our part, we chose to present this one, which was well suited to it on three counts: its traditional Savoyard-inspired architecture, its technicality and an achievement carried out from A to Z by our teams“slide Pascal Sandonat the head of Maisons Alpes Savoie.
Use of a rock breaker during preparatory work
The builder took a year to design the project, respecting the specifications of all members of the family. Because it is a intergenerational house where the basement is occupied by the children, the ground floor by the grandparents for a question of accessibility, on the same level as the living space, and the upper floor by the parents, who enjoy 'a terrace with a view.
The most delicate part consisted of preparation of the groundinvolving the use of a rock breaker. “We reused the extracted rocks in the exterior installations, including the access path, and created several platform levels to avoid excessive excavation of earth.“specifies Océane Chérouse.
From an aesthetic point of view, the 230 m² building, composed of two buildings connected by a patio with roof terracetakes up the architectural codes of Savoyard chalets with a mineral base surmounted by two levels clad in wood and a stone inclusion highlighting the location of the fireplace. All protected by a two-sided roof in slate gray colored terracotta tiles.
Maisons Alpes Savoie: terracotta brick for DNA
“We carried out a traditional reinterpretation of the building using innovative materials“supports Roman Bertaux, collaborating architect. The basement is made of reinforced concrete, while the other two levels are made of Bio'bric, covered with composite wood cladding. “The DNA of Maisons Alpes Savoie is terracotta bricks“insists Gilles Perrier.
These cellular bricks, glued together, constitute a efficient envelopeensure high inertia and good indoor air quality. They are combined with reflective insulation placed inside, Actis d'Hybris, compact and lightweight, made from recycled and recyclable materials, guaranteeing acoustic and thermal comfort, winter and summer. “We work a lot on this point and even anticipate future regulations“insists Joris Sandon, sales representative.
In addition to the choice of materials, the bioclimatic aspect contributes to the energy performance of the building. “In conjunction with the thermal design office, we optimized the compactness of the volumes and the positioning of the glass surfaces. The south-east facade is the best orientation in terms of the provision of light. We installed adjustable sunshades, roller shutters on each bay window, integrated home automation with a twilight clock taking into account the time and the amount of sunshine.“, explains Océane Chérouse. The whole is heated by a heat pump and a fireplace. After a year of construction, the house was received in October.
“We build mason houses”
If Maisons Alpes Savoie was founded 36 years ago, its know-how is based primarily on Sandon constructions, general masonry and public works company created 41 years ago by Pascal Sandon. Its manager, himself a mason, insists on this: “nWe build mason houses.“The two entities each employ ten employees. A family adventure since working alongside Pascal are his wife Valérie, the founder's two sons, Guillaume and Joris, and his little cousin, Gilles Perrier.
Thanks to his integrated design officethe builder offers tailor-made individual houses and has already built 2,200 in and around Savoie. “If the masons come from here, we involve 70 local companies, ranging from carpenters to painters or landscapers“expose Pascal Sandon.
Despite the context, the company is doing well and has an order book “correctly filled out“. It delivered 33 houses last year and 2025 is shaping up rather well, with, as a bonus, the start of the construction of two housing estates: the first in Vimines (seven lots), the second in Drumettaz-Clarafond (ten units).
