Paris, France
Atelier Du Pont
Post By:Kitticoon Poopong
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
A project of 34 housing units on an island site bordered by a gymnasium, a school and
suburban housing, on avenue
Henri Barbusse. In the background, low-cost housing from the 50s which will be demolished.
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
The challenge here for the lessor, the
social organisation Immobilière3F, is to rehouse 34 families close to their old district but in a scenario of wholly revamped housing, the design for which was entrusted to the architects of atelier du pont.
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
Beyond the barrier there is a small group on a
human scale, a 2-storey building + U-shaped roof with in the middle a court in the style of a 3rd Republic school yard or a farm courtyard. This looks onto 7 hundred-year-old plane trees, splendid «protected green spaces» which impart a «quiet and substantial» air to the whole and whose arrangement perpendicular to the road played a key role in atelier du pont’s decision to choose a layout based on a court and not on a street.
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
The project owes its image of a large house largely to its double
pitched roof, which echoes the style imposed by the suburban architecture while revising it radically through the device of changing the look of the elevations to roof, eliminating all distinction between elevation and roof.
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
Urban and user-friendly at the same time, the building emphasises its two-way orientation, onto the court and onto the road, or again onto itself and onto the outside, through a white terracotta finish facing the road and on the exterior elevations of the U contrasting with a wooden look for the elevations facing the court.
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
Indoors, the desire to abandon large scale is reflected in the decision to develop 4 stair wells, as a result of which only 2 housing units can be placed on each landing, thus emphasising the «small living unit» aspect. All the housing units run crossways or face two ways, even the 2-room units. Each one has a view over the court; all the rooms and in particular all the bathrooms (except one!) are naturally lit.
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
The entrances are designed to be easily converted into small offices, thus taking into account changing lifestyles and family make-up. For each of the housing units there are wide external spaces (balconies or rooftop terraces), in a chequerboard arrangement to prevent the casting of shadows, so that meals can be taken in the open.
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
The living rooms are glazed, wide sliding windows providing natural light and maximum sunlight. Finally the communal parts are almost all naturally lit and painted in a monochrome of greens which contrast with the bright orange of the stairways. The choice of a simple quite compact shape without any frills has made it possible to emphasise the quality of the materials and their use. Exterior insulation and a generous provision of natural light mean that the building very easily achieves the Very High Environmental Performance grading, which was the aim of the client when the work was put out to tender.
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
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| Photo © Courtesy of Luc Boegly |
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| plan 01--drawing Courtesy of Atelier Du Pont |
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| plan 02--drawing Courtesy of Atelier Du Pont |
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| plan 03--drawing Courtesy of Atelier Du Pont |
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| elevation 01--drawing Courtesy of Atelier Du Pont |
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| elevation 02--drawing Courtesy of Atelier Du Pont |
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| elevation 03--drawing Courtesy of Atelier Du Pont |
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| elevation 04--drawing Courtesy of Atelier Du Pont |
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| section 01--drawing Courtesy of Atelier Du Pont |
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| section 02--drawing Courtesy of Atelier Du Pont |
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| section 03--drawing Courtesy of Atelier Du Pont |
The people
Architects: Atelier Du Pont
Location: Paris, France
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Luc Boegly
