PietriArchitectes is delivering a project for the city of Massy located in the department of Essonne (91). As part of an urban complex designed by Leclercq Associés, this project called The Sequoias has the particularity of establishing itself in an environment rich in biodiversity, therefore the architectural drawing was oriented towards the conservation and the preservation of the natural environment. Although both buildings are quite different, they are also very similar in terms of colors and through the way they tend to fit into the environment, this consideration being highly valued by PietriArchitectes through a lot of their projects.
The aim of PietriArchitectes is to put the forest at the heart of its project, in a desire to conserve the existing vegetation. In fact, each tree torn down during the construction site was replanted. The new plantations were developed with the wish to preserve the identity of the site. To offset the relative density of the park, the building volumetrics create visual breakthroughs that allow to ventilate the space and offer a garden open to the neighbourhood. The two residential buildings of PietriArchitectes are part of a dynamic neighbourhood that offers a high quality of life, and good quality public spaces for its inhabitants. This includes a shopping square at the South entrance, an adventure area for the children and their families promoting the discovery of nature as seen in
Scandinavia. The site offers also a City Stadium, as well as a quiet area accessible to all inhabitants with the presence of facilities and a natural area designed to preserve biodiversity. Through The Sequoias, PietriArchitectes is convinced that architectural research can still provide solutions to achieve good quality housing, environmentally respectful, thus allowing a real « living together ».
Two architectures that complement and oppose each other The studio’s project involves a 76-unit program, divided into two separate volumes. The complex is articulated around the garden, preserving several remarkable trees, and proposes two different architectural identities. The first building of the Sequoias is cubic and monolithic, and offers overlapping duplex apartments. On the North side, the brick façade perforated by discreet windows allows the privacy of the dwellings. On the garden side, the generous balconies made from raw concrete appear like an exoskeleton. The second building is composed of apartments arranged in layers organized according to the topography, which let them benefit from a good solar orientation. Each apartment also has a generous terrace or at least a loggia.
The first intention was to bring a certain softness to the operation but also to respect its environment. The design of the two buildings was also conceived with the idea of preserving the existing trees on site and especially one of them, a spectacular black pine. The two buildings play with identical materials and similar hues: beige brick, a light-stained plaster, Japanese-style burnt wood and precast concrete. The burnt wood comes from an ancestral Japanese method, it is an eco-responsible material from the plant biomass, its dark color echoes the majestic black pine of the site. The carpentry of the entire project is made of dark wood highlighting the design of the openings of each building. Despite a humid environment linked to the presence of the forest, the materials used are noble and sustainable, they respond to a desire for sustainability and harmony of the whole.
Team:
Architects: PietriArchitectes
Photographer: Hugo Hébrard
Materials used:
Facade cladding: Wood exterior cladding, Douglas burnt wood, Noir de lune/peinture extérieure type Pliolite®
Doors: Portes à chant droit EI 30 acoustique 40 dB type ISOBLINDE 39 BP1 , MALERBA / Porte PC, porte à chant droit EI60 à 1 vantail - PREPEINTE JELDWEN
Windows: Double glazing, window carpentry, Pin pré peint blanc 2 / Ral 9005 Fine Texture, Minco La fenêtre hybride
Interior lighting: PLAFONNIER paliers, modele DEEPVAROHI, DELTALIGHTIN / APPLIQUE ESCALIER, modele VARSOLED, KANLUX / SPOT ENCASTRE hall, modele BIGWOOD, LITED
