Hasta La Ideas

Architects Colboc Franzen & Associés have masked the facade and balconies of three apartment blocks in the south of France behind curved galvanised-steel grids.

Located in the port town of Sète, the three towers are connected by a podium that conceals a large undercroft car park behind a row of shops.

The two eight-storey towers are filled with private apartments, while the smaller six-storey block contains social housing.

This time last year Colboc Franzen & Associés completed a spiralling community centre in Lille – see it here.

See more stories about housing developments »

Photography is by Cécile Septet.

Here’s a project description from Colboc Franzen & Associés:

71 Council and Private Flats in Sète

The building plot lies on the thin strip of land between the Étang de Thau and the Mediterranean Sea on the northern side of the old town, close to the commercial port and its huge industrial facilities. How should we evoke the site’s past and at the same time, through architecture, forge a modern identity for this entrance point to the town of Sète and its emerging neighbourhoods? How should we respond to the titanic scale of the port, with the sea as the horizon, while also maintaining the old town’s way of living?

The project design is based on three blocks of flats set on a ground-floor base. The development comprises four distinct parts: 16 council flats in various configurations; 55 private two- and three-room flats; and shops and car parks to service all of the above. The base accommodates the shops and the car parks, whereas the blocks house the flats. The six-floor block of council flats provides a transition from the existing buildings around it and is therefore located at the centre of the project. The other two eight-floor blocks are thus free to demonstrate their autonomy. The block standing on the street corner marks the entrance to the old town while also looking out towards the commercial port facilities and future developments on the empty docklands. The block at the back is situated above parking spaces and gardens. It looks like a sculpted object in the middle of the ‘island’ and we therefore forget that regulations made it impossible to set the building against the existing party wall.

These blocks also embody a principle of ‘Mediterranean architecture’ that allows for a lifestyle adapted to the local climate: outdoor living protected from intense heat. There are balconies running along the façade and these outdoor extensions allow occupants to walk around the outside of their flats. A galvanised steel screen protects it during very hot weather and also provides a nice amount of privacy. It follows the curve created by the varying widths of the balconies. It lends harmony to the three blocks and makes them easier to interpret. They become gigantic steel cocoons whose materials remind us of the maritime world, while their shape is reminiscent of a ship’s stem and the wind in the screen slats sounds like the jangling of masts in a port. The screen also allow occupants to make appropriate their balconies without disturbing their neighbours, and to create a ‘homely’ feel while also enjoying the view and life in the town centre.

Making good use of the various slopes, the car park creates a man-made topography in the centre of the block of land and harbours a landscape of gardens and parking spaces. The effect is like shelly limestone and it is punctuated with beds of broken rocks and characteristic regional plants. The ground is protected by a layer of bushes and small trees, which provide shade as well as establishing the requisite distance between the flats and people using the car parks.

Client: Pragma
Location: Sète (34)
Budget: € 4,171,000 HT

Surfaces:
Plot surface: 2 956 m²
Usable area: 3 913 m²
SHON: 4 422 sqm
SHOB: 8 050 sqm

Team management:
Architects: CFA (Benjamin Colboc, Manuela Franzen, Arnaud Sachet)
Team: Faudry Ulrich, Guillaume Choplain, J. Von Spoeneck.

Mission: base + DET followed with architectural

Execution project manager: GP Consultants Engineering
Control office: SOCOTEC
Security coordination: SOCOTEC
BET Structure: SECIM
BET Fluids: HOLISUD
Geo technical engineering: EGSA BTP

Start of studies: August 2008 (Direct Drive)
Building permit: October 2009
Start of construction: March 2010
Delivery date: September 2011

Program: 71 units including 16 council flats with 370 sqm of offices and car park

Sustainable development:
– Certified ‘Habitat et Environnement’
– Certified CERQUAL
– HQE Green Building (targets 1 and 4-10)
– Dual-aspect flats
– Sun protection and control through slats
– Curve of the buildings allows sunlight to reach garden
– Green roof on offices

Shiny corrugated metal clads the two cascading stacks of apartments that make up this block in Paris by architect Stephane Maupin.

The two symmetrical sides of the M Building slope down at 45-degree angles towards a small central courtyard.

Some of the 20 apartments have gabled roofs, while some open onto balconies that face one another rather than the neighbouring school and adjacent cemetery.

You may also want to take a look at another housing block in Paris we recently featured, or see all our stories about France here.

Photography is by Cecile Septet.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

The project takes place in the north Pierre Rebiere Street is a 600 meters long and 25 meters wide straight line.

It is surrounded by the Batignoles’ cemetery on one side and by the back entrance of the international high school Honoré de Balzac on the other. The transformation of this narrow abandoned street allows the establishment of whole string of new buildings.

The local rules for urbanism and the scope statements associated to this neighborhood minimizes plastic expressions. As a result it is not allowed to open any views on the cemetery. Thus directly implying a blind front for the future building and making it impossible to have normal front to front flats. The project impressively manages to get around those constraints: each of the flat benefits from both multiple sights and light sources at any time of day and year.

This climatic mechanism suggested the shape of the building.

Those solar templates sculpted internal slopes getting to the very heart of the construction. The 45° symmetrical slopes establish a triangular quadrant relieving the whole block from its compactness. As a result a central void appears where the dwellers can share a continually illuminated unique space. Hence as the light hits one side in the morning the opposite side will benefit from it in the afternoon.

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The shape of this new space is favorable to the composition of an unusual landscape.
It is made from a cascade of Parisian roofs with its respective proportions and rhythm, as well as its apparent disorder. The whole is included in a succession of terraces which represent genuine extra room for the flats. Those terraces are so wide and comfortable that they become like private suspended gardens. In modern Babylonia, the Parisian Barbie rediscovers the joys of barbecue in the open air.

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The staging withdraws itself from the urban stranglehold.

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By refusing the frontal facing towards the street, the building creates a residential intimacy. The residents can communicate freely and develop the relations they desire. The unique vis-à-vis brings the dwellers together. Each resident is within reach of the other and that, without any road to cross. The building works as an inside village, within the town but still open towards the others.

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Materials contribute to the staging of this unique ship. The body of the building is treated as a white hull. The homogeneous coating on the street fronts creates a casual relation to the rest of the agglomeration. The inside is a metallic and shining sheathing. The flats are revealed in a play of light and reflect. The building even possesses a central space dedicated to sharing.

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Once the hall crossed, a simple staircase brings to an inside square at the heart of the building. The setting here is sympathetic. We wander on a wooden deck. We are surrounded by flowers and trees. Our sight gets lost in the foliage of the great neighboring trees.

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Client: Paris Habitat
Team: SM
Project: 20 housings
Location: Rue Rebière, Paris
Date: January 2012
Surface: 1800m²
Cost: 2 500 000 €

Perforated metal balconies fold like ribbons around the facade of an apartment block in the Dutch city of Nijmegen.

The irregularly shaped balconies project from each corner of the 13-storey-high tower, which was recently completed by Rotterdam studio 24H architecture.

Named Housing Hatert, the building contains 72 apartments in its upper storeys.

A health centre and a community hall occupy the ground floor of the block, while a car park is located beneath.

This is the third project from the Netherlands on Dezeen this month, following headquarters for drinks brand Red Bull and an overhauled townhouse – see more Dutch architecture and interiors here.

Photography is by 24H architecture.

Here’s some more text from 24H architecture:

In the area Hatert, at the edge of the city of Nijmegen, the housing corporations Portaal and Talis organize a great renewal operation. Most of the current housing does not comply with contemporary standards or needs a substantial make over.

For this operation the city of Nijmegen worked in cooperation with the office of Khandekar towards a masterplan in which most of the present houses are renovated or renewed. Besides this upgrading, the open areas in the neighborhood will be filled with several new housing projects.

24H architecture designed a sturdy tower with free formed balconies around, which make a recognizable sculpture from all directions; the new ‘crown’ of Hatert.

The parking for the apartments is organized underneath a raised deck that will function as a new public space for the citizens of Hatert. Underneath the housing program the ground floor will be used as a community health centre.

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Project: Housing Hatert, Nijmegen
Client: Portaal, Veenendaal
Architect: 24H architecture – Boris Zeisser, Maartje Lammers
with: Albert-Jan Vermeulen, Anja Verdonk, Harm Janssen, Olav Bruin, Dirk Zschunke, Bruno Toledo
Programme: 72 apartments, health center
Site address: Cort van der Lindenstraat Nijmegen
Design: 2007-2009
Construction: 2010-2011
Construction costs: € 12.500.000
Floor area: 8.000m2

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Persons and companies involved in the project:
Structural engineer: Adams bouwadvies, Drunen
Contractor: Giesbers Wijchen Bouw, Wijchen

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Materials used for walls/floors/ceilings:
Balconies and façade; Aluminium panels Verstegen Perforatie Techniek
Façade; Curamu wooden siding
Facade ground floor; Saint Gobain art panels with custom print
Windows; Alcoa Aluminium frames
Illumination, lamps (product/company): Offices; Zumtobel Staff

French studio Explorations Architecture have completed a social housing block beside one of the narrowest streets in Paris.

The five-storey building provides eighteen apartments in a rundown neighbourhood in the centre of the city.

Timber box-frame windows are staggered across a white stucco exterior to maximise natural light into each flat.

Timber-lined balconies occupy recesses in the facade and overlook a shared courtyard.

This is the second building by Explorations Architecture recently featured on Dezeen – see our earlier story about a sports hall with a curving timber roof that sags in the middle here.

Photography is by Michel Denancé.

Here’s a few more words from the architects:

‘Passage de la Brie’ Housing by Explorations Architecture

Explorations architecture has just completed a high density social housing project in the ‘Passage de la brie’ in downtown historic Paris (19ème arrondissement).

The Passage de la brie is one of the narrowest street in Paris (only 4m across).

In 2005, Explorations won the competition to redevelop what had become a real slum in the middle of the City. It took 6 years to complete due to complex planning and construction issues.

The scheme is a contemporary variation on the “immeuble parisien de faubourg” with its white stucco and timber windows. The windows seem randomly arranged in order to maximize views and lighting.

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Design team: Explorations architecture + Integrale 4 engineers

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Client: City of Paris (Siemp)

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Brief: 18 apartments

Net Area: 2000 m²

Cost: 3m €

Timeframe: 2005-2011

See also:

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Swiss architects Group8 have completed this residential block covered in pink sun screens in Geneva.

Called Coral House, the project has a glazed facade that can be covered by fabric sunshades, which roll up into the window frames when not in use.

The building includes 58 housing units and two floors of commercial space, spread over five storeys and a basement level.

More about Group8 on Dezeen »

Photographs are by Régis Golay, FEDERAL studio.

The information below is from Group8:

The site

The Coral house is located in the Chandieu area, formed by a large urban block surrounded by Rue Giuseppe-Motta, Grand-Pré and Chandieu. The site is accessible by the main road Grand-Pré, this avenue lined with trees, cuts straight though the building block. The future underground parking will be accessible by the entrance of the adjacent building, the Azure center, located on the Grand-Pré road.

This new housing estate takes part of the regeneration of a former industrial site and completes, together with the Bamboo Residence, a large city block. At the intersection of the avenue and the Chandieu road, a public square supplemented by a fountain and a sculpture will be built in collaboration between the artiste Fabric Gygi and the architectural office ADR.

The building

The building consists of 6 floors, including a double attic (duplex apartments) and a single basement level. Coral house offers 58 housing units, from 4 to 6 room flats (kitchen counted as a room). The ground floor and the first floor are dedicated to commercial activities.

The construction aims to high quality standards in terms of space and equipments, as well as construction materials and coating. It also seeks the MINERGIE label, by using optimum insulation for the exterior envelope, and highly efficient technical installations (heating is provided by geothermal heat pumps; double flux air system is distributed through the ceiling – ERV). The use of a high energy standard allowed use to obtain 10 % additional net surface, compared to what was requested by the neighborhood plan.

The façade on the road front is entirely glazed, exposing the living rooms to the outside giving the impression that the building has been cut or like section in a doll house. The clients specifically asked for a building without balconies, the most suited solution capable to give an impression of the exterior was to have sizable sliding windows offering the possibility to open large sections of the façade. In the courtyard, each room is indicated by a window perforated in a roughcast wall with exterior insulation. The internal organization of the flats has been developed as typological system, which puts the hall in the center of the plan, allowing it to distribute all the rooms. The volume of the attic is designed as an object on a pedestal, its aluminum materialization tends to blend in with the sky.

Structural work elements

The structural system was sized not only to ensure stability of the building – including all seismic measurements-, but also to ensure a greater sound insulation between apartments but also between the apartments and the common areas. Therefore all bearing walls and slabs generally have a greater thickness than needed for regular stability requirements of the buildings.

All thermal insulation in the facades and roof has been sized to meet the MINERGIE label values, with a clear aim to reduce energy consumption and lower costs for consumers.

All windows in the courtyard were designed as «breathable» windows, meaning: coated aluminum frames with thermal breaks, last generation double glazing, with an additional third glass placed on the exterior in order to provide a ventilated space with a motorized window shade.

Heating and ventilation

The production of the heating and hot water is produced by a heat pumps supplied by geothermal boreholes. The apartment heating is a low temperature floor heating. The coils embedded in the concrete subflooring are fed by a dispenser located in the lobby, which modulates the temperature in each room based on their exposure or their size. In summer, the same network of coils can be supplied with cold water for cooling of the premises.

The ventilation is a type of «double flow system», fresh air (filtered, dusted, moisturized if necessary, heated) is prepared in the central and then fed into each room through a system in the ceiling located above the sanitary and hall. Meanwhile stale air, taken through the sanitary, is returned to central, where its heat is recovered by a heat exchanger, before being discharged.

This way, the air quality inside the housing is guaranteed at any time, without obligation to open the windows, and energy loss by ventilation is minimized.

CoralHouse Housing estate Area “Chandieu”, Petit-Saconnex 70-70D, Rue du Grand-Pré 1202 Geneva lot 5028 City of Geneva

Programme — Net Area
Housing: 8’450sqm
Commercial premises: 1’930sqm
Basement: 1’029sqm
Total of 58 housing units Commercial premises on the ground and first floors Energy standard Minergie®
Client: A&A Real Estate Grand-Pré SA

Consultants
Project management: PBM Planungs und Baumanagement AG
Civil Engineer: Walt+Galmarini AG, Perreten & Milleret
M&E Engineer: SB Technique
Sanitary Engineer: Mike Humbert ingénieur conseil
Electricity Engineer: MAB-Ingénierie SA
Building Engineering Physics: Basler & Hoffmann Holding AG

Statistical values
Net area: 11’492sqm
Built volume: 38’100m3

See also:

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