Tetris, Social Housing And Artist Studios in Paris, France by Moussafir Architectes

Article source: Moussafir Architectes

The project is part of a larger urban program aimed at regenerating underprivileged neighborhoods in Northern Paris. The action plan developed in close cooperation between the city, the local associations and the landlord included new and refurbished low-rent housing, as well as studios for artists and musicians.

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

• Architects: Moussafir Architectes
• Project: Tetris, Social Housing And Artist Studios
• Location: Paris, France
  
• Photography: Luc Boegly
• Design team: Jacques Moussafir with Alexis Duquennoy (architect project manager)
• Engineering:  SIBAT
• Contractors: SRC
• Client: SIEMP (Société Immobilière à Economie Mixte de la Ville de Paris)
• Tenure (rent, purchase): low cost and very low cost apartment rental
• Site area: 449 m2 (132 m2 + 106 m2 + 211 m2)
• Building footprint: 293 m2 (79 m2 + 64 m2 + 150 m2)
• Total Gross Floor area: 794 m2 (218 m2 + 189 m2 + 387 m2)
• Usage: housing 86% (9 apartments), artist studios 14% (3 artist studios)
• Total number of dwellings:
  1-bedroom apartments: 2
  2-bedroom apartments: 5
  3-bedroom apartments: 2
• Cost: 1.460.000 € excluding VAT (as of 2008)
• Design phase: August 2004 – July 2006
• Demolition: January – March 2008
• Construction: November 2008 – June 2010
• Materials: concrete masonry, plaster, lime stucco, wood
• Software used: Autocad for the 2D drawings and Autocad or Sketchup for the 3D

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

Three plots entrusted to Moussafir Architects were sited on two narrow parallel streets separated by a long, low-rise housing block; a private garden in its middle enabled visual interaction between the two parts of the project. Built on these three plots were nine residences and three artistsʼ studios.

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

The project was shaped by an intention to stay in harmony with the neighborhoodʼs scale and density while maximizing space and daylight available to future residents. Standards established for social housing severely restrict the size of apartments, therefore the architects decided to differentiate interior volumes, creating an added spatial value, which subsequently led to increased amounts of natural light.

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

Perfect alignment with existing buildings and identical façade treatment ensure contextual integration of the project, erasing the difference between the old and the new. Lime stucco echoes the texture of surrounding facades; most window openings have traditional proportions.

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

Even the shutters are covered with the same kind of stucco, which makes the closed windows almost disappear on the facade. The «commonplace» exterior is balanced by the singularity of living rooms. Each of the three buildings has one apartment per floor; each living room has a double (north-south) aspect.

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

The staggered arrangement of day and night zones allows for the difference in ceiling heights: 3,40 m for the living room versus 2,60 for the bedroom. Blending the buildingsʼ outer envelopes with the surroundings provides a proper background for highlighting each individual residence with a large bow window in iroko wood that frames the increased height of living rooms. The principle equally applies to apartments and atéliers, emphasizing the fact that nowadays home and workspace tend to merge.

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

Image Courtesy Moussafir Architectes

Image Courtesy Moussafir Architectes

Image Courtesy Moussafir Architectes

Image Courtesy Moussafir Architectes

Image Courtesy Moussafir Architectes

Image Courtesy Moussafir Architectes

Tags: France, Paris

Categories: Art Studio, Autocad, Housing Development, SketchUp

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 4th, 2013 at 4:06 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.