Passageways

Located on a neglected urban fragment, between a disused railway line and a roadway descending from the Marracq plateau toward the Nive alluvial plain, the building embraces the natural slope, following the elongated and graceful curve traced by both the road and the former rail infrastructure. Emmy Martens From bottom to top, the structure accommodates retail spaces, office premises, penthouse apartments, and a parking facility, positioned in superstructure and connected to the street network along the sloping access. Emmy Martens This stratification of programmes generates a curved horizontality that energises the perception of the building along the urban route. It is further accentuated by the setback of the top-floor apartm... More