housing estate

Atelier d.org is experimenting a new compact housing concept in the middle of a private housing estate by building an eco-aware house and proposing a return to living closer to the natural elements. The evolution of the urban shape of housing estates using new house layout makes the neighbourhood denser thus creating a new relationship between the living rooms and the outdoor spaces. The Architects focused its attention to bioclimatic principles to benefit from passive natural energies and complement energy saving technologies. The parcel-house is partly built on the lot limits which is contrary to the classical layout of housing estates. It allows organising the outdoor space with specific objectives directly linked to the interior spatial design.

bamboo du jour

Aesthetically, this house is a sculptural and abstract replica of a traditional house. Karawitz Architecture reveals a double faced site sensitive house that is closed on the north to limit energy loss and opened on the south to take benefit of free sunshine. This project was the best performance low consumption house in France and the first house in the Parisian region to receive the European labeled certification PHI (Passiv Haus Institut). The Architects used an openworked second skin in non-treated bamboo envelops the skeleton made of massive wood panels. This coating, that becomes grey with time, has been inspired from the typical barns in this region. It covers the windows and continues on to the roof. Identical shutters that cover the large picture windows on the south creates light and shadow during the day and night.

green-span but not alan

Jacques Ferrier Architectures new Choisy-le-Roi bridge crosses the RER C suburban express railway lines serving passenger traffic to and from the southern Paris region. The 70 m long bridge has a traffic lane in each direction contained within wide footpaths to either side. The need for uninterrupted traffic flow – with the exception of a two hour break at night – represented the point of departure for the project’s technical and architectural design. It resulted in the bridge being designed as a straight double beam preassembled on one side of the railway lines which was then pushed out over the tracks in two operations, a solution that ensured that the overall span did not require any intermediate supports.

what floor did we park?

Located in Soissons close by the famous Saint Jean-de-la Vigne abbey, the new 600 space capacity Les Yeux Verts multi-storey car park is fundamental to the project redeveloping the Gouraud barracks into a modern business park. Jacques Ferrier Architectures have created a concrete structure, galvanised steel framework and timber cladding car park that takes the form of a contemporary yet highly restrained urban infrastructure. The style of the building is based on a clearly affirmed structure overlaid by a pleated openwork timber envelope that lightly and delicately clads the entire car park. On each level, a slit opens up in the envelope to provide views from the inside over the urban landscape of the town. The Architects have added subtle visual variations using a single retified spruce slat module by adjusting the rhythm and angling of the slats, stepping away from the façades, using solids and voids, and incorporating light and transparency into the construction. The resulting effect creates a dynamic, vibrant façades that give the car park a strong image within the town’s urban fabric. Adding to that, the Architects have also created the signage from a series of 10 photographic images that, borrowing from the 'memory' game used by Charles Eames, allows users to mentally associate the area where their cars are parked with an atmosphere, a sensation and a visual reference point. Truly a great idea!

cubix cubix

The Public accounting group Fiteco was willing to get its head office and its local branch together in only one area, situated in the suburb of Laval. The Architecture office Colboc Franzen & Associés decided to go further and to design a single building, so the construction would cost less, the environmental impact of the building would be reduced and the internal organization would be optimized. On the first floor are situated all the common facilities. The local branch settled down on the second floor and the head office on the third and last floor. The heart of the building is composed of an atrium and two cores of services (ie: staircase, elevators, restrooms, photocopy room). Interior is kept in white and floors in light grey. Every little detail follows this implacable rhythm (whole building follows a grid unit of 600mm). Only the mirror polished stainless steel sheets and the reflection glass of the outer shell break with the strictness of the interior that reflects in itself the rigor of the company. The folded envelope offers, all year long, the reflection of the surrounding nature and the changing light of the seasons.

grey etching

At the heart of the Marais district; 76, Rue Saint-Antoine and the adjoining plot at 1, Rue de Turenne sits a 17th century existing building, built on a very narrow site. This building has been preserved and refurbished by Chartier - Corbasson by creating a new facade for the gable-end that bears traces of a buidling that was demolished to make way for Rue de Turenne. The Architects have also enlarged the upper floors to create more spacious accommodations. The gable has been opened out to provide the best possible views while an exterior skin has been added to protect the newly created spaces and give them a certain coherence. The housing units comprises of 2 and 4 room flats and loft-style studios which are accessible by open-air staircases leading up from the interior courtyard. Each flat has a terrace or a balcony and all rooms open onto a central living room thus reducing the need for corridors.

steel patches

Chartier Corbasson have created Maison de l’Architecture which was drawn on features of religious architecture. The concept behind the maison is to create thresholds between the spaces by what Chartier Corbasson terms as patches thus integrating all the components/space together. Corten steel is used to create an overall coherence because steel add a chronological dimension and history of the location. The ground-floor space is a versatile public reception area. Visitors will notice a large metal plaque embedded in the floor of the chapel area which can be raised and folded to create a series of movable backdrops. There are other plaques in the wall but only open out to provide display surfaces or to protect technical equipment. The Architect has designed it as a continuation of the chapel with offices of the association board the upper floor.

folie - francais / folly - anglais

Olgga Architects have designed a nomadic house in Frossay, France that could be clad wherever it lands. This ‘folly’ merges the high and low-tech as such that the interior finish is smooth and stark in contrast to the more traditional external log cladding. Olgga Architects won the competition ‘Petites machines à habiter’ held by the CAUE 72 in 2006. They proposed a shelter is based on a wooden structure that is broken in two halves creating a radical spatial boundary as well as materializing an unexpected entry sequence. The structure, similar to a broken branch can be built-up, taken down, moved, put down, left behind or taken along, inhabited or left to its surrounding.