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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. UNIK APARTMENTS in Paris, France by Agence Beckmann-N’ThépéOctober 28th, 2016 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Talents & Co. The river Seine and the new Billancourt park provide a permanent spectacle: UNIK emphasises generous views, planted terraces and balconies for every apartment, as well as its participation in the first European residential home offering facilities specifically designed for people living with “Locked-in Syndrome”.
 Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla
 Image Courtesy © Christophe Valtin After almost two and a half years of construction work, Beckmann-N’Thépé (B/NT) has delivered a residential group of properties to Boulogne, called “UNIK”. The first residents have already moved into this living artwork, which is designed to be in natural continuity with the park. Thanks to its ribboned urban form, its visual rifts and the garden which runs through it, the project is in constant dialogue with its surroundings, creating a contemporary signature through its use of white concrete and a ribbon of coloured glass. The composition of the facades is inspired by the visual spectacle of the Billancourt park and the river: a mosaic cladding reflects the landscape that surrounds it in its choice of colours, and modules in white concrete form balconies and walkways with a line of generous openings that punctuate the verticality of the volumes. This grouping of different elements means that each apartment is unique.  Image Courtesy © Sto  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla Day after day the luxuriant and abundant vegetation takes root. The park continues not only through the central garden but also on the buildings’ facades, all the up to the rooftop terraces, giving a distinctive identity to the whole development and transforming these spaces into a framework for plants and bushes. The general sense of vegetation blurs into the distance, enabling the residents to “keep their heads in the clouds”.  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla  Image Courtesy © Olivier Amsellem This richness and this diversity is mirrored in the design of the apartments, where a variety of different layouts offer a response to different lifestyles corresponding to the demands of different generations. Another important element of this unusual project is the integration of a residential home – the first in Europe – for people living with “Locked-in Syndrome”.  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla The Maison Perce-Neige is at the heart of the development, run by the organisation ALIS. The fruit of a partnership between AP-HP, the organisations Perce-Neige and ALIS, and the Boulogne-Billancourt council, this residential home will allow up to twenty patients living with LIS to benefit from their own bedrooms, physiotherapy and ergotherapy treatment rooms equipped with the most up to the minute communication technologies, a specially adapted restaurant and a garden. This is the first such home in Europe and it represents a remarkable achievement for ALIS, founded in 1997 by Jean-Dominique Bauby, former editor of Elle magazine, who suffered from LIS. He brought the attention of the wider public to this relatively rare syndrome in his book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which he dictated by blinking his eye. The organisation offers psychological support and technical and financial information and advice to people suffering from LIS as well as to their families. Residents of the home will be able to lead as normal a life as possible, thanks to apartments specially-designed to accommodate their special requirements.  Image Courtesy © Olivier Amsellem  Image Courtesy © Olivier Amsellem Architectural element Situated at the end of Avenue Lefaucheux, the plot of land is located at the entrance to the joint development zone by the quay. Thanks to its position, it has exceptional views over the Seine, with the island of Billancourt opposite and the new urban park anchoring the riverbank. The idea of the project is to open the garden, at the heart of the plot, outwards, so that it is linked to the new park within the development zone. This means that the majority of the apartments benefit from both the light and the views, and a link with the landscape is created.  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla In response to instructions received from Patrick Chavannes and Thierry Laverne, visual transparencies have been built in at the level of the building’s common base. This offers an enhanced distribution of both light and sightlines, softening the transition between public and private spaces. In the same way, the way the building is set back from the street, along with the opening on the north side on rue Traversière, help to open up the plot: a small private square broadens the urban perception of the street.  Image Courtesy © Olivier Amsellem  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla The composition of the facades is directly influenced by the visual spectacle of the Billancourt park and the river: in the central part of the building, mosaic cladding reflects the context in its choice of colours, whilst the choice of modules of white concrete for balconies and walkways enhances the sense of continuity with the generous openings that punctuate the vertical volumes.  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla Similarly, lush and abundant vegetation is an inherent part of the design. The park continues not only through the central garden, but also up the facade and all the way up to the roof terraces. It gives a strong identity to the whole design, transforming these spaces into a background for plants and bushes. The overall image becomes blurred with the background. Residents have their ‘heads in the treetops’.  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla  Image Courtesy © Olivier Amsellem  Image Courtesy © Agence Beckmann-N’Thépé  Image Courtesy © Agence Beckmann-N’Thépé  Image Courtesy © Agence Beckmann-N’Thépé  Image Courtesy © Agence Beckmann-N’Thépé  Image Courtesy © Agence Beckmann-N’Thépé
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Categories: Apartments, Housing Development |
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