va jouer dehors!

Va jouer dehors! (formerly Caractère Spécial)

Visual magazine/website for architect Matthieu Poitevin’s studio

Year: 2025  |  Client: Va jouer dehors! Association  |  Roles: UX, Front-end, Performance, Custom WordPress Admin

Context

Caractère Spécial — now Va jouer dehors! — champions an engaged practice: the rehabilitation of brownfields and industrial sites, and emblematic cultural places. The website had to both show (large image series, works in progress) and tell (op-eds, press), without compromising on frugality and performance.

Goals

  • Showcase rich image galleries (projects, universe, “recipes”) with smooth masonry rendering.
  • Provide comfortable editorial collections (op-eds, press).
  • Stay light: short load times, minimal JS, optimized images.
  • Empower the team with custom admin tools inside WordPress (no heavy third-party CMS).

Image galleries

Responsive full-CSS masonry (columns), AVIF images with JPG fallback, native lazy-loading, accessible captions.

Text galleries

Editorial lists (op-eds, press) with compact cards, metadata, and comfortable reading.

Tech & performance

  • Platform: built on WordPress, with a custom admin interface for editors (projects, press, recipes, logo cloud).
  • Images: <picture> with AVIF first, JPG fallback; explicit width/height to prevent CLS; native lazy-loading.
  • Grids: CSS masonry via columns (0 JS libs). Alternative ready: CSS Grid + grid-auto-flow: dense.
  • JS: minimal (optional IntersectionObserver for reveal effects and deferred loads). No framework.
  • Accessibility: ARIA roles on lists, <figcaption> captions, verified contrasts, keyboard nav.

Studio

Founded by Matthieu Poitevin, Va jouer dehors! designs living places — brownfields, industrial sites, cultural venues, schools — with an organic approach rooted in territory.

“Architecture can no longer be an isolated instrument within an orchestra… We build places that enable, that welcome — where time has its rightful place.” — Matthieu Poitevin

Result

An immersive magazine-like website that puts images first, structures editorial content, and stays fast: lightweight pages, discreet JS, and a custom WordPress back-office that ensures autonomy for the team.