SOCIAL HOUSING, CORNEBARRIEU

Bastien Treille

• Architects

Located at the southern end of the ZACMonges-Croix du Sud in Cornebarrieu, thishousing completed by atelier Régis Roudil linksthe preserved countryside with the new urbanfabric of the ZAC. They constitute a point ofentry to the district. The transition from a naturallandscape to organic geometry and a gentle formof urbanisation integrated with nature is at theheart of the project, whose essence is defined bythe surrounding landscape whilst alsoarticulating the entrance to the southern end ofthe Zac.

Building horizontally and low (1- and 2-room flatson a base) enabled the integration of vegetationand the park into the same lots, and thus therepurposing of the grounds and the publicspace. Careful attention to the impression ofdensity structures the project.

photo_credit Bastien Treille — Bastien Treille

DIALECTIC OF A CALM BLOCK OF FLATS

On both ground and upper floors, the impression of density is generated by the scale of the flat and its window. This building of collective housing, comprised of 2-room flats, has a linear façade of over 150 meters on the outer ring. The architectural style of the façade aims to break the monotony of this volume’s mass. Flats are visually separated from each other by solid wood panels. These separations also serve to introduce a domestic quality to a very long building.

The project is built in a way that offers both distant and nearby views, with elements of the brief facing each other as well. The relation from the housing towards the exterior is notably made possible by broad glazed areas and balconies running along the entire periphery of the building. This guarantees a form of intimacy whilst bathing rooms in light. For thermal and functional purposes, a dense framework of vertical elements is positioned along the length of the balconies. All the flats enjoy double exposure and are accessible from the walkways along the interior ring of the building.

PARK IN THE HEART OF THE CITY BLOCK

Greenery and organic materials fold into the continuity of the landscape project of the ZAC, thereby creating a pleasing density and open ground. Building simple, straightforward, long, and thin volumes, taking advantage of the generous surface of the lot, has made it possible to free spaces for grassy areas and well-aerated places, enjoying the luxuriant nature and offering multiple uses.

Greenery is also included in this operation, with different needs between the edges of the lot and its core. The architecture translates these needs, upon which they depend, to offer a shared reading of the heart of the city block.

A lively and inhabited heart, this object can be understood from the street and thus orient the public towards the different spaces and entities. The interior opens onto two gaps and two broad sheltered porches connecting it to the central park of the ZAC, roadways, and gentle pathways. It takes on a bucolic appearance of forest glades, and can be seen through the permeable ground floor, from the Rue Jacqueline Auriol and the Avenue Henri Guillaumet.