SOA Architectes has completed an ensemble of social housing units in the exceptional natural setting of the historic hospital grounds in Le Vésinet.
The parcel, created within the Parc Princesse on the occasion of the recent creation of the ZAC of the same name, is part of a fragile landscaped sequence and a remarkable living piece of heritage.
Work on the site plan was conducted with Lambert & Lénack architects with the aim of building a series of 56 units on the parcel. The part handled by SOA counts 26 units, of which 24 are social housing and 2 units targeting first-time buyers.
The idea is to start with a unique construction, a large villa comprised of superimposed duplexes, that warp and fragment and ultimately blend into the decor. This process gives rise to original forms that are part of the tradition of the villas found in Le Vésinet.
Terraces are oriented towards the interior of the site plan in order to avoid “looming over the park” with overly imposing views. Equally experiencing the pull of this inward gravity, the roofs have slightly inverted slopes. The play of built elements tending towards the center enhances the presence of trees and heightens the feeling of privacy.
The feet of the buildings are comprised of grand double-height arches in order to disappear at the average human height and blend into the masses of greenery. Their proportion borrows the dimension and form of the voids between the trees. The arches frame the broad views over the park whilst proceeding like the rest, from a hollowing rather than a projected form.
The work on the façade is comprised of a drapery that covers the folds in faces of the different volumes. A 50-cm frame creates the rhythm of the light and matt coating on the vertical lines of the bands of reflective metal. This very concrete and evanescent hybrid material anchors the construction as much as it finds it in the kinetic reflection of its reflective lines.
Flats are small, stacked duplexes up to the studios on the mezzanine. Volumes are particularly large and luminous. Flats on the ground floor enjoy large, double-height corner living rooms that open onto the most wooded areas of the park. The kitchens are systematically separated. The bedrooms and main bathrooms are upstairs.
The second level of the duplex reuses the layout of the corner living rooms with loggias. The flats facing the heart of the complex have terraces overlooking the lobby.
The general circulation consists of an illuminated pathway passing between the individual terrace gardens for the upper level.
Team:
Architect: SOA Architectes
Project management: SOA Architectes
Project manager: Alexandre de Mercey
Landscaper - Urban planner: TER
Engineering studies: VPEAS, Elithis, Z. Babocsay
Photo credits: Camille Gharbi
Video credit: Timothée Janssen
