Vitarel, a pool villa in Occitanie, France

A French Farm Reimagined Smartly and Sustainably

San Francisco-based industrial designer Max Burton applied the three Ss to his four-building farm complex set deep in the southwestern French countryside of Quercy. Sustainable, smart, and serene, the classic country outpost celebrates the region’s ancient local architectural vernacular, yet features an all-modern, sustainable soul.

A four-year upgrade on the French country retreat employed more than 20 local artisans and engineers who teamed up with a California-based crew of architects, sustainability engineers, and lighting and landscape designers. The result is a celebration of the regional Quercy architectural style—simple limestone structures, all sturdy, stout and storybook quaint—modernized by smart, sustainable technologies and powered by the sun. California has come to the French countryside.

The sunny farm complex sleeps 10 across four independent units, each bright building with its own kitchen and all showcasing a contemporary design sensibility. Rainwater from the buildings’ roofs fills buried reservoirs to irrigate the verdant country garden. Lighting and appliances shut off when not in use. Induction cooktops and LED lights conserve the solar energy generated by the swimming pool’s innovative shade structure, and two electric vehicle power stations stand proudly in the remote driveway.

The complex’s sustainable soul and practicality hasn’t eclipsed its beauty. Made up of the two-bedroom La Maison, and three single bedroom units, L’Atelier, Le Cottage and Le Jardin Suite, each of the intimate homes feels warm and inviting, with wood overhead and smooth polished flooring underfoot. Generous window openings offer passive solar warmth and flood the rooms with natural light, and loft-like metal architectural features appear in windows, stairwells and operable, modern French doors.

A multipurpose meeting space located in the studio is outfitted with state-of-the-art AV equipment, offering a generous communal space for entertaining or on-site meetings and workshops. The entire farm complex is also available for indoor/outdoor weddings, reunions or corporate retreats across its four units, the outdoor terrace and manicured green lawn, and the cheery, open-air pool terrace, with its solar canopy, changing room and firepit patio.

Around

This villa for rent in France is located in the Quercy region. Known for its truffle-rich forests, duck-forward gastronomy and deep garnet wines born of limestone crags and fertile valleys, it is distinctively rural and delightedly undiscovered compared to its better-known neighbors, nearby Dordogne or Languedoc. Dotted with medieval villages and ancient chateaux soaring from its heavily forested limestone bluffs, Quercy is a gastronome’s delight. It's a region where each village boasts its own farmers’ market piled high with walnuts, goat cheeses, porcinis and truffles, handwritten roadside signs point to fresh eggs, foraged or farmed treasures, and simple wine tasting can be savored on unassuming, family-run vineyards.

Outdoor enthusiasts will appreciate the rugged natural park, Les Causses du Quercy, and shouldn’t miss the breathtaking Aveyron Gorges. Underground caverns, Pech-Merle Cave and Padirac Chasm, allow you to travel deeply into Quercy terroir, while hilltop medieval villages such as Rocamadour, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, Martel, and Figeac offer a stunningly different perspective on the unspoiled region, also home to notable sights such as Mont St. Cyr and the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Valentré Bridge.