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Architects
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Location
Bordeaux, France -
Area
6893.0 sqm -
Project Year
2015 -
Photographs
Text description provided by the architects. This project involves building 93 multi-family and mid-range housing units in the Berges du Lac-Ginko development area, which forms part of the urban renovation scheme for the north of Bordeaux.
Context
Widely referred to as Ginko, this new district sets out to redefine the components of urban life: the place occupied by cars, how people get around, the distribution of energy, the shape of the urban fabric, the relationship with nature, and so on.
On the scale of the city block, we thought carefully about how to arrange habitually separate programmes—residential buildings, mid-range housing, row houses, and detached houses—in the most appropriate way.
Architectural approach
The juxtaposed « cascade » arrangement both attenuates the block-like effect typical of long, low-rise developments and avoids urban sprawl. This fragmented massing makes it easier for residents to appropriate the homes, and we have ensured that most of the units command views of the lake.
So that pedestrian movements take precedence over vehicular traffic, the ground floor homes have private gardens that surround the car park inside the block and make the street more attractive.
The car park roof on level 1 is designed as a communal garden: this makes it possible for residents to walk around inside the block and between the buildings.
Because the lobbies are at ground floor level, each building thus has three entrances: from the street, from the car park itself, and from the landscaped car park roof.
Dividing the buildings into four lots has made it possible to offer dual-aspect flats and corner balconies.
