In the centre of Nantes, the transformation ofthe former army barracks known as the CaserneMellinet reflects contemporary urbanchallenges. Situated at the entrance of thisneighbourhood composed of six hamlets, theflats completed by Ramdam and Palast are part of the Chapus hamlet. This hamlet is thetransitional urban feature linking the Saint-Donatien neighbourhood and the heart of thebarracks complex. Whilst respecting theintention of urban planners to create a coherentidentity between the two areas, the project isfirst and foremost part of a powerfulconstruction ambition of a wooden structureand mineral façades composed of plasteredhempcrete.

LIVELY CITYSCAPE

The new blocks of flats form a built front along the broad pedestrian mall. This location made it possibleto truly place them in a dialogue with what is already there, the existing heritage and the trees of the mall.The design of variations in construction volumes helps enliven the ambiance of public areas and thesubtle transition spaces between the older houses and the heart of the new, more monumentalneighbourhood.

A variation in the intensity of light casts shadows and reduces the mass effect generated on thepromenade and within the parcel. Judicious cutouts shape the urban skyline of the project and the visualidentity of the flats.

MINERALITY AND LIGHTNESS

The sequencing of upper and lower levels and the scale of volumes echoes the retained characteristicsof barracks architecture. The domesticity of the project is expressed in the scale of windows, in itsproportion, and its ornamentation. The rhythm of the façade reflects the arrangement of the flats, andmakes it possible to sequence the volumes, thanks to alternating large bays and hempcrete trumeauxwith rounded edges.

NATURAL CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

Hempcrete - hemp agglomerate (hemp shives), lime, and water – is usually sprayed or poured on site.Owing to the scale of this project, the prefabrication of hemp panels in the carpenter’s workshop wasadvised. The curved trumeaux demonstrate the interest of a lime plaster coating and the plasticity ofhempcrete whilst highlighting its inertial qualities and hygrometric regulation. The infrastructure, theground floor, the staircases, and the lift shafts are made of concrete. The rest of the block of flats is builtwith a post / beam / floor / wooden framework.

SUNBATHED FLATS

Flats benefit from varied, contextual qualities: the heart of the city block, the southerly oriented plaza witha view towards the neighbourhood, the planted mall and its public spaces, as well as the residentialstreet with its low volumes and gardens. The lower stratum is continuous and compact. It offers a maximum number of flats with double exposure, extended by the winter gardens. The quality of flats onthe upper floors is achieved with large corner balconies, creating an atypical typology of exterior spacesin terms of their exposure to sunlight and range of uses.

The design of volumes made it possible to compose built masses in coherence with the neighbouringsolids and voids, whilst maximising the sunlight bathing flat interiors.

Team:

Contractor: Batinantes Et Iceo

Architects: Atelier D’architecture Ramdam + Palast

Project Manager: Bénédicte Chevalier

Structural Engineering: Synergie Bois

Acoustics Engineering: Solab

Hempcrete Engineering: Can-ia

Fluides: Solab

Opc et Moex: Quatuor