The Côté Garonne project is ideally located on avenue de Muret, along the river of the same name in the heart of Toulouse. From the beginnings of the project, the Letellier Architects agency aspires to "re" structure the avenue with a construction adapted to the environment, aesthetic and quality both by its organization in plan and by the durability of the materials used.
Objectives achieved. Composed of two buildings of 68 housing units, this architectural project energizes this essential Toulouse thoroughfare and combines with existing constructions. Between access to the Tramway line and to the dike, these city-center gateways have the specific characteristics of making all their envelopes visible and offer a promenade along the water behind the site.
The first building is composed of 6 floors topped with an attic giving the air of a perched house. The other, more modest in size, with 5 floors, links with the existing, in particular with a house protected by urban planning regulations, and will be exclusively dedicated to social rental housing.
The conservation of green spaces is an integral part of the achievement for which, a common parking lot located at the rear of the plot has been converted into a green terrace. This composition of the natural terrain forms a link, this time between the two buildings.
Thanks to the urban context, our architects have created a project with a strong nature-city duality. Thus, a dichotomous treatment of the facades according to their orientation was required, which is why the choice of materials was a project in itself with a view to complementarity in favor of the diversity of materials.
On the city side, the self-protected polished concrete panels form a protective shell in which the loggias dig large faults. Crafted in a smooth dark plaster, they nestle under the concrete and the powder-coated perforated metal guardrails provide privacy.
On the Garonne side, this faceted hull fades away, leaving the building bare, which opens onto the watercourse and its vegetation. A set of offset balconies, like “moving”, echoes the movements of the river. Generous boxes with translucent glass railings attached to the French way open widely onto the landscape and allow residents to make the most of the setting and the south-eastern exposure without vis-à-vis.
Axel Letellier tells us about these buildings “like a sculpture bringing life to the street with a capable volume”.
