Causses Traditional Houses

The traditional Causses house is made of stone only, and stone arches are the spine in these properties. In this area of Languedoc Roussillon there is absolutely no house with wood beams since the roof structure needs to be strong enough to bear the weight of Lauze roofs, often representing more than 250 kg /sq m.

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Due to the walls thickness, the windows and doors are generally of small dimensions, this giving a balance to the whole house. On the roofs, Lauze tiles are not fixed since their own weight allows them to be stable, and the roofs are gently slopping.

Building stone houses in the Causses architecture style was also a way to prevent fire spreading, since there is not much water in the Causse area that would allow to stop that. The only available local material is calcareous.

It is also not rare to find outbuildings attached to the house like a bread oven or a pigeonnier next to traditional houses. Most houses in the Causses area of Languedoc Roussillon have two vaults. One arch supports the ground level and the first level while the other one suppports the roof.

Like in the Cévennes area, the upper floors can be accessed without stairs due to the house being against the mountain side. The particular style and architecture of these Languedoc Roussillon properties is also given by the terrace or balcony.

Some Causses house have a gallery with arches and columns, they are then referred to as Aragonaise houses (when the Spanish style influences the local architecture).

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• Summary of Languedoc Roussillon Architecture