Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

French practice AWP has remodelled a water-treatment plant outside Paris to reveal its industrial processes to the public.

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

Located beside the Seine to the south of the city, the Évry Water-Treatment Plant was first established in the 1970s. Following a design competition in 2003, AWP developed a new masterplan for the site, adding four new buildings and a surrounding landscape of trees and gardens that will all be accesible to visitors.

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

Each of the buildings has a prefabricated concrete structure, with timber screens wrapping the upper sections to soften the industrial appearance of the facades. These screens surround large external ducts, as well as a number of balcony corridors.

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

The smallest of the four buildings functions as an entrance and exhibition centre for tourists, who will be able to tour the plant when it opens to the public later this year.

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

We’ve featured a few water-treatment plants designed by architects on Dezeen, including a combined garden and plant in Germany and a floating island that purifies river water.

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

See more industrial buildings »
See more architecture in France »

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

Photography is by Anna Positano.

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

Here’s a project description from AWP:


Water-Treatment Plant, Évry

Construction and renovation of four industrial buildings and a water park

Located on the Seine river front, close to a key metropolitan route (the Francilienne), Évry water depuration plant is a major infrastructural element that is at once symbolic and highly functional, reflecting environmental, technical and urban considerations.

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

The first plant was built in the 70s and the aim of this renovation is to increase and optimise its capacity. The urban dimension of the equipment has guided us towards a strategy of opening-up and hospitality. Previously rejected and hidden, this infrastructure is now relocated on the urban scene, so as to have a public role and to become symbolic. Regularly open to visitors, this equipment will become both a landmark and an experiential water filtering park.

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

The formal strategy consists of a main axis along the river where gardens, new buildings and tanks are located. Buildings will be renovated and their façades completely redesigned as urban scale filters.

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

Location: Évry, France
Client: Communauté d’agglomération d’Évry
Architects: AWP (leading architect) + Ithaques

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

Team AWP: Marc Armengaud, Matthias Armengaud, Alessandra Cianchetta (partners), Miguel La Parra Knapman, Joseph Jabbour, David Perez (project team)

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP

Engineering: Bonnard & Gardel (leading engineer)
Net surface: 6000 sqm (buildings)
Budget: €42 million
Competition: 2003
Delivery: 2012

Water-Treatment Plant by AWP
Site plan – click for larger image and key

The post Water-Treatment Plant
by AWP
appeared first on Dezeen.

Création de 4 chambres d’hôtes by Loïc Picquet

This two-storey extension by French architect Loïc Picquet converts an old farm building into a rural guesthouse in the Alsace region of France (+ slideshow).

Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet Architecte

Loïc Picquet renovated the interior of the single-storey farmhouse to accommodate a communal living and dining room, then added the timber-clad extension to create four guest rooms, each with a double bed and en suite bathroom.

Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet Architecte

The timber frame of the existing structure is exposed inside the building, so the architect followed suit by leaving wooden ceiling beams uncovered in each of the new bedrooms.

Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet Architecte

Floors are also wooden, while stable doors separate bedrooms from bathrooms and timber-framed cubbyholes contain extra beds and storage areas.

Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet Architecte

“A new wood construction was added as a natural and fluid extension of the old farm, not only renovating it but mostly honoring it by the use of its history and details,” said the architect. “Niches were built in the walls and double doors were chosen over the regular ones, so that a special interaction between the bathroom and the room could be created.”

Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet Architecte

A chunky wooden staircase with staggered treads leads to the new upper floor and marks the divide between the new and old structures.

Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet Architecte

New timber-framed panel windows were added to the old building, while square Velux windows were installed for each of the bedrooms in the extension.

Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet Architecte

Other renovated farm buildings to feature on Dezeen include a house in southern England, a converted cattle shed in Belgium and a reconstructed stone stable in Spain. See more renovation projects.

Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet Architecte

Photography is by Stéphane Spach.

Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet Architecte
Ground floor plan – click for larger image
Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet Architecte
First floor plan – click for larger image
Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet Architecte
Long section – click for larger image

The post Création de 4 chambres d’hôtes
by Loïc Picquet
appeared first on Dezeen.

Saint Laurent opens new flagship store in Paris

News: Saint Laurent has opened the doors to its new flagship store in Paris, the first to be designed by Hedi Slimane since he became creative director of the fashion house last year.

Located on Avenue Montaigne near the Champs-Élysées, the art deco-inspired Saint Laurent store features a marble staircase encased by rods of nickel-plated brass.

Saint Laurent Montaigne flagship

Black and white marble has been used for the walls, floors and a row of shelves, above which hang nickel-plated bars for displaying clothes.

The monochrome interior is reflected in the black and white photographs accompanying the opening of the store.

Saint Laurent Montaigne flagship

Formerly known as Yves Saint Laurent, after its founder, the fashion house’s name was changed soon after Slimane took over as creative director last spring.

Saint Laurent’s Sloane Street concept store in London is set to open in the autumn.

Saint Laurent Montaigne flagship

Other fashion boutiques we’ve featured lately include a shop in Warsaw with an upside-down living room on its ceiling and a Milan boutique featuring glass silhouettes of male and female figures – see all shops on Dezeen.

An exhibition of high fashion inspired by punk recently opened at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art – see all fashion design.

The post Saint Laurent opens new
flagship store in Paris
appeared first on Dezeen.

Best Made Co. Laguiole 127 Knife: A superior take on the traditional toothpick pocket knife

Best Made Co. Laguiole 127 Knife


The latest tool to get the royal Best Made Co. treatment, the Laguiole 127, is a better functioning and more aesthetically pleasing version of your traditional toothpick pocket knife. As we’ve seen before, Best Made really…

Continue Reading…

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

Doors, windows and recesses are picked out in yellow ochre on the timber facade of this retirement home near Paris by French studio Vous Êtes Ici Architectes (+ slideshow).

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

The four-storey Morangis Retirement Home was designed by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes with a Y-shaped plan that divides the interiors into three wings.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

Siberian larch is arranged in vertical strips over the exterior of the building and also forms canopies across the various entrances.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

The primary entrance is located at the junction of two wings and leads into the centre of the building. Additional entry points are positioned along the northern facade for service access.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

The ground floor of the building is taken up by communal rooms, health facilities and staff areas. Shared dining rooms, living rooms and other social areas are grouped together around the south-east elevation and open to a private residents’ garden.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

Bedrooms occupy the three upper floors of the building. The first and second floors accommodate typical residents and are divided into clusters of 13 bedrooms, each with their own dining and activity room. Meanwhile, the third floor is dedicated to patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

Central corridors provide clear routes between the different sections of each floor. Rather than relying on artificial lighting, they each feature windows to bring in as much daylight as possible.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

The third floor also features two roof terraces with direct access to ground level via a pair of outdoor staircases.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

We’ve previously featured a nursing home in Portugal on Dezeen, which was this year shortlisted for the Mies van der Rohe Award.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

See more housing developments on Dezeen, or see more architecture in Paris.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

Photography is by 11H45.

Read on for more details from Vous Êtes Ici Architectes:


Ehpad de Morangis – Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

How could we build a socially orientated retirement home and never neglect comfort and sensorial fulfillment?

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

A retirement home for all

Based on an off-plan concept led by AXENTIA as a social contractor and IMMODIEZE as a private developer, the Morangis Retirement Home was constructed with financial support from the Conseil Général de l’Essone, Regional support as well as the Regional Health Agency and the town of Morangis.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

The operator and tenant of the new building is an Autonomous Public Establishment that offers stays as low as €60 per day. This low and democratic offer was attained without sacrificing the quality of service or the finish of the construction.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

An orientated building

The building is constructed on 4 levels and is based on a Y-shaped plan. The building occupies the site as follows:
1) The main public entrance is located where the “Y’ strands connect
2) The north façade is dedicated to service, deliveries and employee’s entrance
3) The south façade is generously opened towards the residents private park

The plan is organized according to a few constraints: compact, rational and open towards the outside.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes

The living areas as well as the main activities areas (restaurant, salon) are developed around the private gardens. These areas benefit from the view and easy dedicated access to the gardens. The gardens include therapeutically themed spaces as well as more traditional paths around flower beds and a rose garden.

The rooms on floor one and two are dedicated to classical geriatric residents, the rooms are disposed into 6 units of 13 rooms each.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes
Ground floor plan – click for larger image

The third floor is dedicated to patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or other similar neurological disorders. The floor includes vast dedicated spaces for specialized activities, rest and well-being.

All the floors are accessible from the central node intersecting all of the buildings functions and patient units.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes
Cross section one – click for larger image

Views and light for all

One of the base lines of this project is to offer, all through the construction and all its sleeping units, framed views. Each unit has a main gathering area for activities or meals as well as a smaller area placed in front of loggia or suspended gardens. All these small areas include large windows and quality framed views.

The corridors, usually blind and suffocating spaces, always include wider spaces with outside views, this allows our elders to move around at their pace towards lights and rest areas in the buildings circulations, they may easily meet and chat with fellow residents without having a difficult and stressing path to do so.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes
Cross section two – click for larger image

The third floor has two large terraces easily accessible to the residents. These terraces, widely orientated towards the park, are treated as a prolongation of the inner spaces.

On an individual’s point of view, the building rooms were designed differently with windows offering distant views of the countryside and treated as hotel rooms more than hospital rooms. The windows all designed with a glass panel to the floor allowing bedded residents to have a view.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes
Cross section three – click for larger image

Materials and Volumes

A unique volume with different spaces: unity is not uniformity.

On the outer skin wrapping the building, openings are pierced following no specific symmetry; the sculpted facades offer various views and volumes behind the outer skin.

This envelope covering the building is made out of Siberian larch wood; these wooden boards are warm and comforting. The outer skin vibrates according to the sun and time of the day. The larch boards are top quality solid wood, they are butted together to prevent deformation and to remove defaults.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes
South elevations – click for larger image

Wooden awnings extend the facades skin away from the building creating shelter from the sun and rain and protecting the ground floor’s salons and restaurants.

Every time the outer skin is punched in to form a dent in the global volume this corresponds to a specific socializing space: inner rest areas widely opened towards the park or the third floors terraces. The “dents” allow the sun and the light to reach in deeply into the building for those whom have difficulties moving about. As soon as the outer skin is breached to create a volume a different material and color is used to outline these inner volumes. A warm orange to yellow coating has been applied on the outer walls exaggerating the warmth of the light. The ambiance is friendly and warm and the yellow resonates nicely with the natural warmth of wood. As a result the dynamic spaces we offer are worth the effort needed to reach by elderly people.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes
East elevations – click for larger image

This bright and lively color, stimulating without being aggressive, is also the one used for the window and door frames of the facades found under the awnings and in the bedrooms. As one approaches the building and passes below the awnings towards the yellow coating, as he is welcomed, will feel and understand the building’s harmony. One will easily understand how the building works and how it is connected to its natural and urban surroundings.

Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes
North elevation – click for larger image

Developer: Immodieze and AXENTIA for the Conseil General du 91
Architects: Vous Êtes Ici Architectes
Location: Morangis southern Parisian suburb
Program: Retirement home with 91 rooms
Cost: 9.4 million euros
Calendar: First building permit 2010, final delivery 2013
Area: 5315 sqm, 46 parking spaces, total plot area 9950 sqm
Partners and collaborators: Dumez IDF (general contractor), FACEA (fluids engineering) LECARPENTIER (exteriors and landscaping) SPOOMS (kitchen engineering) CAP HORN (Acoustics engineering) LAPOINTE (roads and water engineering)

The post Morangis Retirement Home
by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes
appeared first on Dezeen.

Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion

Haute couture garments by Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen will be displayed at an exhibition of her work in Calais, France, from June.

Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion
Skeleton dress by Iris van Herpen

Considered a pioneer of 3D printing in the fashion industry, Van Herpen utilises both new technologies and hand crafting techniques to create intricate sculptural designs.

Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion
Crystallization by Iris van Herpen

A 3D-printed piece modelled on the transformation of liquid into crystal (above) and a voluminous handmade dress that references billowing smoke (top) are among the items to be shown.

Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion
Synesthesia by Iris van Herpen

Thirty pieces designed since she began her own label in 2008 will be exhibited in total, along with photographs and footage from her catwalk shows.

Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion
Chemical Crows by Iris van Herpen

The Iris van Herpen exhibition will be open from 15 June to 31 December at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion in Calais.

Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion
Escapism by Iris van Herpen

A design from Van Herpen’s Crystallize collection features on the front cover of our one-off 3D printing magazine Print Shift. We also interviewed her for a feature in the magazine.

Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion
Capriole by Iris van Herpen

She recently created a dress modelled on splashing water during a live week-long web broadcast. Photography is by Bart Oomes.

Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion
Micro by Iris van Herpen

See more designs by Iris van Herpen »
See more stories about architecture and design exhibitions »
See more stories about fashion »

Read on for further details from the museum:


The International Centre for Lace and Fashion of Calais consecrates a new exhibition to Iris van Herpen. At 29, this young Dutch fashion designer has largely impressed the fashion world with her futuristic sculptural costumes. Through the presentation of thirty pieces created between 2008 and 2012, the International Centre for Lace and Fashion invites the spectator to plunge into the avant-garde universe of this prodigious creator!

Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion
Mummification by Iris van Herpen

Iris van Herpen

Iris van Herpen is a young Dutch designer (born Wamel, 1984) who has made a considerable impact in the world of Haute-Couture in recent years. Following in the footsteps of Martin Margiela, Hussein Chalayan and Rei Kawakubo, her innovative, sculptural dresses represent a major contribution to the conceptual end of high fashion, deconstructing and examining the creative process and the relationship between clothes and the human form.

After training at the ArtEZ Institute of the Arts in Arnhem (Netherlands) and a passage with Alexander McQueen, Iris van Herpen set out to develop and explore her unique combination of traditional craftsmanship and technological innovation. Invited by the prestigious Chambre Syndicale de la Haute-Couture to show her first Parisian collection in July 2011, Iris van Herpen creates clothes of subtle, poetic, unsettling beauty. Their sculptural forms, enriched by the play of light, place them somewhere between Haute-Couture and contemporary art. And yet the designer does seem intent on creating designs which can be worn by everyone, capturing and reflecting the wearer’s personality and aspirations: she launched her first ready-to-wear line in March 2013.

Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion
Radiation Invasion by Iris van Herpen

Exhibition Layout

The International Centre for Lace and Fashion of Calais highlights the recent collections of Iris van Herpen through the presentation of thirty dresses and numerous photographs. The exhibition gallery is a large, minimalist plateau some seven metres tall and sixty metres in length, a majestic backdrop against which to appreciate the creations of this celebrated Dutch fashion designer, unique pieces which blur the boundaries between art, design and fashion. The gallery’s light walls and polished concrete floor will be plunged into twilight, with lights carefully placed to ensure that all eyes are drawn to the dresses on display.

These creations are arranged by date and by collection, displayed on stands so that they can be seen from all angles. These original Iris van Herpen dresses are placed in confrontation and conversation with the photographs displayed immediately opposite them. Visitors can also see the dresses in motion, with footage of van Herpen’s catwalk shows projected on the big screen in the auditorium.

The radically original forms and materials used in Iris van Herpen’s works qualify them as “wearable sculptures”. The pieces displayed here demonstrate her ability to craft complex designs which draw on a wide variety of techniques, with interweaving elements, intricate lacing and fluting. Certain parts of the body, notably the shoulders and hips, are accentuated with voluminous extensions. Some materials make recurring appearances: leather in various forms and styles, acrylics subjected to various manipulations, metal chains and plastic straps. The colour palette is deliberately muted, offset with occasional metallic effects and flashes of iridescence.

The post Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International
Centre for Lace and Fashion
appeared first on Dezeen.

BIG to design leisure district on Paris outskirts

BIG chosen for EuropaCity masterplan on Paris outskirts

News: Danish firm BIG has been selected to design an 80-hectare shopping and leisure complex with a park on its roof to serve a business district between two Paris airports.

EuropaCity will be located in the Triangle de Gonesse – an area southwest of Charles de Gaulle International Airport and north of the smaller Le Bourget Airport – and themed around the diverse cultures of the European continent.

BIG chosen for EuropaCity masterplan on Paris outskirts

“We propose to integrate the new facility in the surrounding business district as an urban form that combines dense city with open landscape,” said BIG, referring to the grassy parkland that will cover the structure.

A mix of retail and entertainment offerings will be arranged along a circular avenue, which forms a loop through five themed areas: Avenue de France, Rambla de Mediterranea, British Square, Norden Platz and East Boulevard.

BIG chosen for EuropaCity masterplan on Paris outskirts

Bicycle lanes and electric public transport – seen in the image above as small white pods – will enable visitors to get around the hub.

BIG also proposes to make EuropaCity a showcase for sustainable technology by using waste heat from cooling plants to heat swimming pools, recycling waste water to irrigate the parks and installing solar, wind and geothermal energy.

BIG chosen for EuropaCity masterplan on Paris outskirts

The masterplan was chosen from a shortlist of four, including Valode & Pistre, Manuelle Gautrand and Snøhetta, by the property subsidiary of French retail chain Auchan.

BIG was one of 12 international firms recently shortlisted to design a new headquarters and visitor centre for the Nobel Prize in Stockholm, Sweden, while earlier in the year the studio was appointed to lead the redesign of the Smithsonian Institution campus in Washington DC – see all architecture by BIG.

Other projects recently announced in France include a masterplan for the south of Bordeaux by Dutch firm OMA and an apartment tower in Montpellier with rippling floor plates – see all architecture in France.

Images are by BIG.

Here’s some more information from BIG:


EuropaCity will offer on an unprecedented scale a mix of retail, culture and leisure around a defining theme: Europe, its diversity, its urban experiences and its cultures. The site is exceptionally well connected: Locally as a main node on the Grand Paris Express Metro, regionally as entrance gate to the metropolitan area of Ile de France and internationally with its direct connection to the second largest airport in Europe. We propose to integrate the new facility in the surrounding business district as an urban form that combines dense city with open landscape, exploring the urban and green potentials of the site at once.

The programmes of EuropaCity are organised along an internal circular avenue with a mix of retail, entertainment and cultural programmes on both sides. The avenue forms a loop travelling through five different areas themed as the various regions of Europe, becoming the Rambla, the Regent Street and the Champs Elysees of EuropaCity. Along the avenue bicycles and electric public transport bring visitors around and a line of trees transform gradually from Birches in the North, Pines in the east, palm trees in the south and Platans in the west. The circular avenue creates a variety of spatial experiences and a clear overview – it allows you to get lost, and still find your way.

We propose to arrange the programmes according to energy and resource use, in order to maximise utilisation of waste products within a closed urban ecosystem. Waste heat is channelled from cooling plants into recreation facilities as swimming pools and spas. Waste water is re-used as irrigation for the parks, and urban scale recycling facilities minimise overall waste production. The five regions of Europe have a different ways of harvesting renewable energy, from solar power to wind and geothermal energy. EuropaCity becomes a laboratory for sustainable technologies, and a showcase for viable green tech implementations that does not only save energy, but also improves the quality of the urban environment.

Partner in charge: Bjarke Ingels, Andreas Klok Pedersen
Project leader: Joao Albuquerque, Gabrielle Nadeau
Team: Maren Allen, David Tao, Salvador Palanca, Marcos Bano, Lucian Racovitan, Ryohei Koike, Camille Crépin, Elisa Wienecke, Léna Rigal, Paolo Venturella, Tiina Liis Juuti, Jeff Mikolajewski.

Name: EuropaCity
Type: Invited Competition
Size: 80 Hectare
Client: Groupe Auchan
Collaborators: Tess, TransSolar, Base, Transitec, Michel Forgue

The post BIG to design leisure district
on Paris outskirts
appeared first on Dezeen.

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by Farshid Moussavi Architecture

London firm Farshid Moussavi Architecture has won a competition to design an apartment block in Montpellier with designs for a tower made from a stack of rippling floor plates.

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by Farshid Moussavi Architecture

The Jardins de la Lironde tower will comprise eleven irregularly shaped levels, arranged in a seemingly random order to create balconies on different sides of the building.

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by Farshid Moussavi Architecture

A total of 36 apartments will be contained within the upper storeys of the building, while a restaurant will occupy the ground floor.

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by Farshid Moussavi Architecture

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde, is the first of 12 new buildings planned for the Port Marianne district. The brief for every structure is to create a “modern folly” that references the eighteenth-century chateaux built by wealthy merchants around Montpellier.

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by Farshid Moussavi Architecture

Farshid Moussavi Architecture will continue to work on the next stages of the project and construction is set to begin in 2014.

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by Farshid Moussavi Architecture

Above: typologies diagram

Iranian-born architect Farshid Moussavi launched her studio in 2011, after 16 years as co-director of Foreign Office Architects. Since then she has also won a competition to design housing outside Paris and completed the mirror-clad Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.

Other recent projects in Montpellier include a government building designed by Zaha Hadid and a school for hotel management by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas. See more architecture in Montpellier.

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by Farshid Moussavi Architecture

Above: unit layout one

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by Farshid Moussavi Architecture

Above: unit layout two

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by Farshid Moussavi Architecture

Above: unit layout three

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by Farshid Moussavi Architecture

Above: unit layout four

The post Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by
Farshid Moussavi Architecture
appeared first on Dezeen.

OMA hired for Bordeaux masterplan

OMA hired for Bordeaux masterplan

News: Dutch firm OMA is to masterplan a new urban development south of Bordeaux based around the extension of the local tram system.

OMA’s design will regenerate the neighbourhoods of Bègles and Villenave d’Orno as the new line introduces a connection to Bordeaux’s central station.

OMA hired for Bordeaux masterplan

“We took the tramway extension as an opportunity to rebuild this part of the city,” said OMA associate and project leader Clement Blanchet, who has proposed moving the line back from the main thoroughfare.

“By shifting the tramline from its previously planned location, we create potential for new types of housing and commercial development,” he said.

The firm will work on the public space alongside the line over the next five years in collaboration with landscape architect Coloco.

OMA hired for Bordeaux masterplan

OMA has also been working on a masterplan for 50,000 new housing units in Bordeaux, while other projects by the firm currently underway in France include the École Centrale school of engineering in Saclay, near Paris – see all architecture by OMA.

Last year we filmed a series of movies with OMA’s Reinier de Graaf looking at “masterpieces by bureaucrats”, while a previous trio of Dezeen movies features the firm’s head Rem Koolhaas discussing the OMA exhibition at the Barbican in 2011.

Elsewhere in Bordeaux, work started this week on a football stadium by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, while French designer Philippe Starck recently unveiled a prototype bicycle designed for a free cycle scheme in the city – see all projects in Bordeaux.

Images are by OMA.

The post OMA hired for Bordeaux masterplan appeared first on Dezeen.

Tour Bois-le-Prêtre by Frédéric Druot, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

This renovation of a crumbling 1960s tower block in Paris nicknamed “Alcatraz” topped the architecture category of this year’s Designs of the Year Awards and is in the running for the top prize to be announced tonight (+ slideshow).

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

The 16-storey Tour Bois-le-Prêtre, originally designed by French architect Raymond Lopez, contains 96 apartments in the northern outskirts of the city, but after 60 years of ageing and neglect the building needed a significant overhaul to bring the accommodation up to modern standards.

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

French architect Frédéric Druot teamed up with Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal of Lacaton & Vassal on the competition-winning redesign. Their renovation included extending the floorplates outwards to increase the size of rooms plus create new conservatories and balconies.

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

A facade of corrugated aluminium clads the new exterior of the tower, interspersed with large windows and glazed balconies. Floor-to-ceiling glass separates the apartments from the new terraces to let more natural light into each residence.

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Architect Amanda Levete, on the Designs of the Year judging panel, described the project as “a clever and elegant solution” that is “far from the usual cosmetic approach that fools no-one”. She added: “Completed at half the cost of demolition and new build, this is an exemplary lesson in harnessing clever thinking and ingenuity to transform neglected parts of our cities.”

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Tour Bois-le-Prêtre is one of the seven category winners of the Designs of the Year Awards, alongside a folding wheel and a medicine kit that can travel to developing countries in between Coca-Cola bottles. The overall winner is set to be announced later today.

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Other renovated apartment blocks we’ve featured include a tower surrounded by ribbon-like balconies in the Netherlands. See more renovations on Dezeen.

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Here are a few words from the architects and some project details in French:


The Bois-le-Prêtre Tower Metamorphosis

Conversion of 100 social dwellings, operation in occupied site and high environmental quality, 5 Bld du Bois le Prêtre, Paris 17ème

The project of metamorphosis of the “Bois Le Prêtre” Tower consists of a radical transformation of the conditions of comfort and habitability of the 100 residences of the occupied building. The tower built in 1962 by the architect Raymond Lopez, develops on 50m height, 16 levels serving each one 4 or 8 residences.

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

By addition of heated extensions, winter-gardens and balconies, the overall surface of origin of 8900m2 is carried to 12460m2. This new organisation of surfaces and the precise technical improvements make it possible to adapt the rental offer while meeting by the creation of new typologies the needs for the families, to return lime pit foot the access to all the residences, to reduce passively, the consumption of energies of more than 50%, mainly by the addition of the winter-gardens.

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Maître d’ouvrage: PARIS HABITAT
Architecte mandataire: Frédéric Druot Architecture
Architectes associés: Anne Lacaton & Jean Philippe Vassal

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Etudes Fluide: INEX
Etudes Structure: VP Green Economie : E2I
Acoustique: Gui Jourdan

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Sécurité incendie et accessibilité: Vulcanéo
Pilote MOE: BATSCOP
Surface SHON: 12 460 m2 (dont 8900m2 existant)

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Coût des travaux: 11,2 euros HT
Livraison (en cours): Octobre 2011
Missions: Mission de base + Diagnostic + Concertation
Spécificités: Travaux en site occupé Certification CERQAL HQE

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Above: Tour Bois-le-Prêtre before the renovation

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Above: typical floor plan – click for larger image

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Above: long section – click for larger image

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Above: cross section – click for larger image

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Above: north elevation

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Above: west elevation

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Above: south elevation

Tour Bois-le-Pretre by Frederic Druot Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal

Above: east elevation

The post Tour Bois-le-Prêtre by Frédéric Druot,
Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal
appeared first on Dezeen.