A project steeped in the industrial past
The construction of a building that includes 35 housing units (privately owned and social housing) and a cabinetmaking workshop located on the ground floor. A former Botelli cabinetmaking workshop, the workshop contributes to the historical continuity of the site and evokes the past through thearchitectural design. In continuation of the adjoining architecture,through the construction details, the building evokes the history of the site (cabinetmaking workshop), our epoch and contemporary construction methods.
The MAO practicedesign intent was to reinterpret the archetypes of Parisian light industrial architecture while giving the new building a contemporary interpretation. The building seeks to serve as a reference point rather thanan object out of context. The project bears witness to the site history, even though the century-old original workshop wasunfortunately demolished for economic reasons and the decline in workshops within city limits.The architects wanted to evoke this past through the clever use of timber in the project.
A building assembled like a piece of furniture
The building is designed as an assembly of different components, just like a piece of furniture. Its vertical precast concrete structure (prémur),reduced to a strict minimum,supportsthe floorslabs. Between these structural elements, large timber trussesgive the building its identity, through the clever and intricate assembly of concrete and timberelements.
The construction techniqueof prefabricated concreteand timber is also part of the site history - the building is designed, prefabricated, assembled and adjusted like a piece of furniture.
The project expresses the assembly of the intangible and the tangible:
Assemble history
Assemble stories
Assemble spaces
Assemble functions
Assemble materials
Assemble memories
Assemble lights
Assemble landscapes
Assemble intentions
The project is a subtle blend that ultimately allows each element to find its own balance whichcontributesa richnessthatenhances the composition and harmony of the building.
Space and materiality in harmony with the site
The quality of a home depends largely on its luminosity and thus the design of its windows. The practice attaches great importance to detail and the proper use of materials thatencourage multiple uses, appropriation by theoccupier and great durability of the element.
At street levelrecalling the rhythm of former workshops,the timber joinery is integrated into the elevation grid. All the windows are very tallto maximise light within the home. The windowsare either inward opening or fixed bow windows. The alternation between the fixed and opening elementsfacilitates the maintenance of the entire facade.
On the ground floor, the joinery takes on the "workshop spirit", with window frames inupper and lowersegments. At the "loft" unit level, a double skin in facade creates a buffer zone between the street and the unit interior.
Interraces, the winter gardens on the roof deck create intermediate living spaces inextension of the internal spaces.
The kitchenwinter garden creates a cosy place to install a dining table, meal preparation table, herb garden, raised bedsfor a roof deck vegetable garden, an armchair for reading and to have breakfast, etc.... This space is direct relation with the outside that creates a homely atmosphere within the apartment.
The site and its historyheavily inspired usto createan elegant and sober project that fits into the urban and architectural context of the historically light industrialneighbourhood inRue de Charonne. The practice wanted to locatethe project within a historical continuity while preserving its soul.
Material Used:
1. Tinted precast concrete facade
2. Precast concrete internal load bearing walls (KP1)
3. Lacquered steel joinery/ground floor - larch timber joinery/upstairs
4. Steel metal work with stainless steel mesh
5. Recycled cotton insulation
6. Cement tiles
