Le Monticole is a mixed project of: 36 social housing units, a media library, medical office spaces, a community kitchen and a car park. The project is located on the site of the former school of Plan d'Aou, Marseille disused since 2006 . The principle that guided us throughout the design process is the inhabitants attachement to the school they knew since they immigrated in the 1970s.
The project is developed around the existing trees with three massive stone volumes emerging from the school's footprint. As a consequence we chose not to build an underground parking space, thus, avoiding touching the roots of the trees and above all making a significant 10% saving in the overall budget of the project . We decided to position the open-air car park on the roof of the public facilities, which are in direct contact with the public space. This has the merit of combating the feeling of insecurity that can be found in some underground parking spaces.
This project is one of the last to be carried out as part of the urban renewal of Plan d'Aou. It should symbolise the success of this renovation, which began almost twenty years ago. The buildings are positioned in the heart of the neighborhood, opening onto a new large public square and offering the housing units incredible views over the bay of Marseille. In order to manage the mixed use, we decided to position the public facilities and shops on the ground floor.
We deliberately chose to build with a local solid stone because this project is essential for the northern districts of Marseille and it had to be exemplary in terms of design and sustainability thus trying to change the view on social housing by regifting an unique place to the community. The project is being developed on about 5000 m² of floor space.
The city of Marseille took possession of the structure built by ERILIA in March 2019 and now is carrying out the interior design of the future equipment. This project was designed by the MIRA workshop. The media library will be delivered in December 2019. Studies of the two other facilities (the restaurant and the health centre) are in progress. They will be delivered in early 2020.
Material Used:
1. Facade And Structure: Solid Stone PROROCH
2.Windows And Doors: Schuco
3. HVAC Products: Saunier Duval
4. Luminaire Producer: SFEL
5. GRAPHISOFT: Archicad
6. Elevators: Schindler
