Les Terrasses de Jade

Roland Halbe

« Les Terrasses de Jade » - TAA Toulouse

• Leading architect

TAA agency presents one of its projects: “Les Terrasses de Jade”, which involves the construction of a housing complex - Les Terrasses de Jade, Magnolia & les villas Magnolia and Camélia - and retail spaces, in the Trois Cocus district of Toulouse (Occitanie region, France).

photo_credit Roland Halbe — Roland Halbe

The Borderouge and Trois-cocus neighborhoods are part of a unique site, rich in history. The initial uses, mainly agricultural, gradually densified, giving way to a residential character. Today, undergoing significant transformation, these neighborhoods contribute to the dynamics of the Toulouse metropolitan area while remaining attached to their suburb identity. As part of the recent development, a pedestrian pathway system and landscape work have been initiated. We have relied on these studies as a preamble to our research. The aim is to ensure the transverse connection of pedestrian pathways within our plot and to enhance the soft network characteristic of the new Borderouge neighborhood.

Implementing landscaped breaks, from the Chemin des Izards to the heart of the block, accentuates the strong landscaping aspect of the project. Green areas along these breaks ensure the planting of large trees within the scheme. The rationality of the mass plan with underground parking allows for the creation of these green spaces within the project and the planting of trees in the landscaped breaks and on the northern and eastern boundaries of the block. The development of well-identified green spaces gives an open character to the project within the neighborhood.

Creating a step-back following the logic of decreasing heights towards the heart of the block allows for managing the density of the project. Placing the "intermediate" typologies along the public pathway towards the heart of the block ensures a variety of typologies and urban forms that contribute to animating the project. This airy layout with the step-back strengthens the "landscaping" character of the new development. Visual management is ensured by slight variations in the mass plan and the placement of plots with slight offsets (in the heart of the block) compared to those located along the street frontage. Finally, a variation in the standard layout of different housing units creates balconies and loggias positioned according to the path of the sun or along the structuring axes.

The qualities of the project are characterized by the rationality of the mass plan, the small size of the plots, and the multiplication of dual-orientation housing units (including small units). We have implemented multiple orientations for the outdoor spaces of the housing units with generous dimensions (terraces, loggias), allowing for optimal management of views.

Creating an urban frontage and visual porosities allows for the establishment of "urban elements" in the form of plots that accompany the Chemin des Izards and ensure perspectives on the heart of the block. Establishing a frontage at the location of the new square designed by the Obras agency strengthens the urban character of this new public space and highlights the historical character of the "Fondecave" House. The duality of the red brick of the "Fondecave" House with the white brick used for the new buildings expresses the dialogue between modernity and the duty of memory to reconcile residents with urban planning and contemporary architecture.

What characterizes this project is its urban connection with this neighborhood, which was traumatized by the construction of the large estates in the Izards neighborhood during the sixties, around this very Toulouse-style new square which highlights the "Fondecave" House, a guarantor of the memory of high-quality heritage. This vernacular disposition, both urban and architectural, allows for the development of a new urban and architectural form, between plots and intermediate housing, without clashing with residents, in a quality landscaping project that emphasizes the permeability and pedestrian continuity of the Borderouge neighborhood.