Dezeen Magazine

Today we like: French houses

Today is Bastille Day, a French national holiday that celebrates the country's reinvention as a republic. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille in Paris on 14 July 1789 – a symbolic moment for the French Revolution.

We're joining the celebrations with a look back at some of the best French houses from our archive, including a dilapidated barn turned into a holiday home using traditional hemp-based plaster (pictured) and a villa designed to look like a bump in the landscape. See more French houses on Dezeen »

OMA uses coloured mirrors and aluminium foam for Repossi Vendôme store interior

An aluminium foam staircase doglegs up the centre of Italian jewellery brand Repossi's flagship store, designed by Dutch architecture firm OMA on Paris' exclusive Place Vendôme (+ slideshow). More about OMA uses coloured mirrors and aluminium foam for Repossi Vendôme store interior

SCAU adds undulating ring-shaped roof to Marseille football stadium

French firm SCAU designed the undulating fibreglass roof of Marseille's football stadium, which is set to host the UEFA Euro 2016 semi-final between France and Germany this Thursday (+ slideshow). More about SCAU adds undulating ring-shaped roof to Marseille football stadium

Shakespearean-style wooden theatre by Studio Andrew Todd opens in France

Towering bamboo poles encase this cylindrical wooden theatre in France, which opened in a fanfare last week, despite suffering vandalism just a few days before (+ slideshow). More about Shakespearean-style wooden theatre by Studio Andrew Todd opens in France

Architect blames far-right parties for attack on Shakespearean theatre in France

A Globe-inspired theatre in northern France has been vandalised a week before its opening, an act the architect believes was "politically motivated desecration" by members of the far right. More about Architect blames far-right parties for attack on Shakespearean theatre in France

Mathieu Lehanneur adds pink light fittings to interior of Louvre's Cafe Mollien

French designer Mathieu Lehanneur has renovated a cafe inside the Louvre in Paris, adding modern pink acrylic light fixtures that contrast with their historical surrounds (+ slideshow). More about Mathieu Lehanneur adds pink light fittings to interior of Louvre's Cafe Mollien

Converted shipping containers combine to form angular Flying Box house

Architect Josué Gillet used shipping containers to construct this prefabricated house in France, which features an asymmetric facade and a rooftop terrace (+ slideshow). More about Converted shipping containers combine to form angular Flying Box house

LAN Architecture completes French town hall with a perforated metal skin

Perforated steel mesh wraps this town hall in northwest France by LAN Architecture, creating a skin that changes from opaque to transparent when illuminated at night (+ slideshow). More about LAN Architecture completes French town hall with a perforated metal skin

MAD unveils Parisian housing block with curvy floors and balconies

Beijing studio MAD has revealed plans for a Parisian housing block surrounded by undulating balconies, which is set to become the firm's first residential project in Europe (+ slideshow). More about MAD unveils Parisian housing block with curvy floors and balconies

Daniel Buren colours the sails of Frank Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton

French artist Daniel Buren has covered the glass sails of Frank Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton building in Paris with an array of multicoloured filters (+ slideshow). More about Daniel Buren colours the sails of Frank Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton