Article source:  LAN Architecture

The Génicart district, located near the centre of Lormont and adjacent to the town’s main urban and interurban network, consists primarily of collective and social housing. Comprising 10% of the  city’s municipal territory, it accommodates roughly 10,500 people and 50% of Lormont’s population. This ambitious urban and social renovation project is organized around four different residences, located on the South sector of the district: Saint-Hilaire (387 units), Leroy (114 units), La Boétie (105 units) and Villon (104 units). The project has established a residentialisation programme. The term “residentialisation” originated in the 2000s and follows the first phase of rehabilitation of housing estates operated from the 80s. Residentialization responds pragmatically to the constraints of collective housing for large populations set by the investors. In this programme, housing units are gradually distinguished from one another, and public space follows suit. Through the use of pathways and a more progressive hierarchy of public and private, the presence of unused collective space is reduced. The pitfall of residentialization lies in its premise. It is an impoverishment of shared spaces, a homogeneous privatization of ground against the very principle of large sets: the free plan. The risk is to strengthen the withdrawal, and return once again to the margins of neighborhoods. The project area Génicart attempts to reconcile the redefinition and the free plan. Taking advantage of every opportunity offered by the need to intervene on the buildings, the project follows an overall strategy of making urban blocks more comprehensive through architecture, whilst keeping the landscape open. This is achieved through gradually transforming public and private spaces such as green areas, sports facilities, and new pathways into an entirely pedestrian area.

Image Courtesy © Julien Lanoo

• Architects: LAN Architecture
• Project: Urban Renovation in Lormont (Rehabilitation of 709 housing units, relandscaping and creation of a new car park)
• Location: Lormont, France
• Photography: Julien Lanoo
• Team: LAN (mandatory architect), Agence Franck Boutte (HEQ consultant), BASE (landscape architect), Beterem ingenierie (all-trades engineer)
• Client: Domofrance
• Time Table: 2009-2014
• Budget: 16,8 Mio Euro excl. VAT

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