Traditional Breton penty homes see revival as second homes

‘Penty’ homes used to be the dwellings of predominantly poor families in Brittany, but are now hugely sought after, particularly among those looking for second homes or a return on investment.

The properties are single-room dwellings, usually no more than 25㎡, built from local stone by farmers and fishermen.

They are often low-ceilinged, creating a cosy, intimate atmosphere. As families grew, many penty homes expanded, turning into longères (long houses).

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The oldest ones date from the 15th Century, though many have disappeared. The few that remain, particularly in Finistère, are now protected. Owners are required to maintain them as part of efforts to protect France’s built heritage.

A village atmosphere

Among the architects leading this construction and renovation drive is Marion Filâtre.

Her childhood is part of the reason she always wanted to become an architect and work on penty houses.

Born and raised in Brittany, she grew up on a “building site”, watching and helping her parents renovate the family penty in Vern-sur-Seiche, on the outskirts of Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine).

Her parents worked free-of-charge for nearby farmers in exchange for vegetables, bread and fruit. Any spare time was devoted to work on the penty, which eventually extended to enlarging it.

Some 25 years later, Ms Filâtre is head of L’Architecte du bout du monde, an architectural firm on the Crozon peninsula, south of Brest, which has seen firsthand the penty renaissance.

“There's an attachment that's linked to an imaginary world,” she said.

“These are extremely low houses. They're villages on our scale. There's a dollhouse effect, a hut effect. People can easily climb onto the roofs and renovate. You can't do that in the city. There's a human scale to the penty. There's a village atmosphere. There's a sense of solidarity.”

Their attraction extends beyond Brittany. Ms Filâtre gives the example of a wealthy Chinese client who bought one only to visit it once a year for the satisfaction of gardening “like normal people”.

That client was among those with the means to employ architects to build a penty from scratch.

Those who cannot afford €600 per ㎡ of wall are forced to wait until one of the many retirees from Brittany who inherited the family penty finally contemplate selling.

Ms Filâtre told the story of a farmer who exchanged his penty for a tractor, only to kick himself after seeing how much the property was worth once it had been done up.

The renovation trend has been ongoing since the 1970s, she said, when the government started protecting these buildings by forbidding their demolition.

Current owners include people from the world of entertainment and the arts, such as former cinema producer Karen Swami and French actress Clémentine Célarié.

“I consider myself part of a movement working on vernacular architecture,” said Ms Filâtre.

Like many words in the Breton language, penty has two or more spellings. Some prefer to refer to them as penn-ty dwellings. Either way, the word is a combination of the Breton pen, which means head, and ty, which means house.

Renovation challenges

Many architectural practices now specialise in penty restoration. While renovation efforts in the 1970s focused on opening up these homes but without much thought for comfort, modern methods aim to maximise space by connecting several penty into one, in the process turning them into barn-like longères.

The biggest challenge is complying with new insulation and environmental rules without significantly altering the structure or appearance of the property. A single room with a high ceiling, designed to be heated by a central chimney, can quickly lose its space and charm.

“Fitting insulating material would mean reducing the walls by 15cm, reducing space. Insulating the roof requires 22cm of material, losing volume and potentially the possibility of a first floor. Add to this the financial burden and inconvenience to owners,” said Ms Filâtre.

Lionel Orsi, a Paris-based architect and Brest native, was faced with other issues when he was commissioned to oversee the renovation of a 15th Century penty belonging to his friend, Jean-Luc Criquet.

His work was awarded a ‘Bâti contemporain’ prize by the Maisons Paysannes de France association in 2017, following nine years of work.

“This project has a special place in my heart. It really was a collaborative effort, requiring dialogue and co-operation between many trades," Mr Orsi told The Connexion.

It focused on reconstruction while honouring the memory of the place, avoiding imitation and inaccuracies, he said. The architect and client goal was to reveal a 21st-Century heritage, not simply replicate the past.

Finding modern solutions

The complexity of the project lay in finding custom solutions and craftsmanship, Mr Orsi said. Covering the stone walls required large slate tiles, called lauzes, which matched the weight of the stone.

They also used laminated wood for the roof frame, creating a spacious interior with a mezzanine. The original floor, which had been buried over the years, presented challenges too.

The roof was raised to line up with neighbouring house, allowing more natural light into the otherwise dark structure, but only after supervision, assessment and approval from the Architectes des bâtiments de France.

Mr Orsi is not the only one to have been recognised for his efforts. Catherine Berger and Arturo Villaamil, architects and owners, since 2011, of a penty in Gaoulac'h, won second place in the Parc d’Armorique architecture contest.

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They spent €130,000 to get it on the grid and fully equipped with modern comforts, laid a slab of concrete measuring around 70㎡ and used timber cladding painted white for the interior walls.

“We insulated it from the inside, because we did not want to coat the walls. It was all about not distorting its purpose. We adapted ourselves to the needs of the location and the building, not the other way around,” Ms Berger said.

“We thought it would be a second home. It took one summer there to make it our first,” she added.