As the only French territory on South American soil, French Guiana is marked by cultural, landscape and urban diversity. This diversity, if it is above all a source of wealth, raises a certain number of questions. How can we live together in the face of multiple identities? How can we create a common sense of belonging while taking into account the variety of lifestyles and ways of living? Finally, faced with constant demographic growth, how can we propose a sustainable urban development model that is integrated into its environment? 

It is in this context that our mission of urban project management on the sector "Tigre-Maringouins", in the South of the municipality of Cayenne, falls. Far from a simple mission of "classic" urban extension in a known and discovered territory, it is rather a question for us of coming to work on a complex territory, partly built -with infrastructures and "anti-city" objects- and that one must "put back in city".
The surface area (200 ha) and the situation of the Tigre-maringouins sector make it a piece of the city that must be integrated into the existing territorial context. 
It is by apprehending the mission at various scales, those of the Department, the Island and the city of Cayenne and finally the site, that we will be able to bring out the structuring elements of the territory that will enrich the project. 

Far from producing fixed figures, it is a question of proposing a malleable urbanism, adaptable to the hazards (in particular climatic and here in particular the question of water) and to the fast evolutions of our ways of life to conceive a true living district. The development plan must therefore have the "capacity to" evolve, to adapt both in terms of public spaces and urban form and programming. 

The project is based on the development of the public space network and the vegetation and water network. Thus, the perceived landscape becomes a lived landscape where city and nature intermingle, forming a harmonious whole that conveys identity. The bangs of the site are recomposed in order to ensure continuity (with the existing polarities and neighborhoods) and urban quality. An internal road network is created and new public transport (TCSP) is developed and integrated into the project.

Finally, a diversified urban fabric and programming contribute to the integration of the project into its environment and create an attractive residential setting, notably by enhancing the exceptional assets of the site.

Team:

Client: EFPA Guyane

Architect, urban and landscape designer : Ateliers 2/3/4/ 

Gaia : Local architects

Opus : local landscapers

Egis : civil engineering

Alphaville : Programmer

Photo Credits: Ateliers 2/3/4/