100 WATTS

This project is part of Saisons Zéro’s transitional occupation of the Clarisses monastery, which aims to repurpose part of the Clarisses nuns’ quarters as an inn. 100 watts is the thermal power emitted by the human body at rest. A box-within-a-box system has been conceived to obtain a comfortable temperature in the uninsulated rooms, which also need to retain their historic character. The furniture is inspired by enclosed beds, Japanese capsule hotels and medieval four-poster beds. It can be applied to all of the convent’s rooms, and is made from reused materials to minimise waste. The structure is covered in a textile wrapping that ensures and maintains thermal insulation around the body.

This wrapping responds to the area’s seasonality. At the intersection of textile design and minimalist living, this reinterpretation of the four-poster bed ensures comfort and privacy. The fabric walls are removable and superimposed while remaining independent of each other. A primary curtain has been constructed from industrial tarpaulin scraps, like a protective shell used as an exterior adornment. Its shapes and colours recall the hangings and flags of a bygone era, an anachronistic medievality.

The second curtain, made from linen, is the interior part of the bed. Installed closer to the body, it allows for thermal insulation while providing sensory wellbeing. Linen is a local and durable material cultivated in the north of France. Like a superimposition of eras and future narrations, the bed’s materials play with contradictions while echoing the region’s cultural and industrial heritage.

The final layer is a mosquito net assuring a rather useful protection when considering the area is bisected by a branch of the Trichon, a local water source. This net is detachable according to the seasons, and opening or aeration systems can be added to the structure to obtain variations of both light and darkness.

Partners :

CELC ; Isotiss ; Matelas nostress