Gold Winner of the Houzee Awards 2023
Architect / Designer:
GUIRAUD-MANENC + GAULT ARCHITECTES
Studio:
GUIRAUD-MANENC
Design Team:
Architects : Antoine GUIRAUD, Etienne MANENC, Roland GAULT
Associate Architect : Alain CHARRIER
Engineering Office : VERDI Bâtiment Sud Ouest
Landscaper : A+R Paysages
Copyright:
Vincent MONTHIERS
Country:
France
“The Epilobs” project consists of the construction of 84 social housing units, divided into 7 buildings set on stilts with heights varying from R+2 to R+6, allowing a volumetric transition with the neighbouring blocks.
Built in raw concrete, these masses of varied forms touch the common spaces with a field character and are naturally connected to the Mussonvile park, a real urban forest.
“The Epilobs” project is divided into 7 buildings, built on piles with heights varying from R+2 to R+6.
The buildings located at the extremities of the site have a maximum height of R+3, allowing for a volumetric transition with the neighbouring blocks (existing residential buildings on the east side and R+2 and R+3 on block 7.1). The greatest heights are found on the central buildings which are furthest from the two public roads.
The buildings “taking height” and being “lifted off the ground” free up views “under the building and between buildings” towards the Mussonville park. The four blocks located inside the plot are accessible from four “green totems”, which integrate the vertical circulations. The dwellings all have orientations that allow them to have optimal sunlight. A large proportion of the homes are through- or dual-oriented and include generous loggias.
The entire project is built in unfinished concrete. The railings with an expanded metal filling are galvanised steel. These materials reinforce the raw aspect of the project.
The majority of the parking (car and two-wheeled vehicles) is integrated into the building’s right of way.
Tapestry plants, trees and bushes protect the edges of the structures and channel pedestrian traffic towards specific areas: two-wheeled premises, entrance hall, play areas, household waste collection points, access platform for emergency vehicles.
« The Epilobs” project is a new way of living in the city. It is a simple and rational volumetry that offers additional space to the inhabitants. It is generous, double-facing housing with comfortable double loggias that allow residents to enjoy a private outdoor space at any time of the year.
These are links between common and private spaces with a real architectural value: from the arrival at the residence to the door of the dwelling, the inhabitant or visitor will cross a succession of varied spaces where light, vegetation and minerals follow one another, transforming a simple journey into a real walk.
Finally, there are generous outdoor communal spaces where there is a succession of paths, clearings where children can play, and an urban forest where everyone can stroll, cross paths and meet.
GUIRAUD-MANENC
GUIRAUD MANENC + GAULT ARCHITECTES is an association of 2 agencies that have been working closely together for nearly 15 years. We are based in Paris and Bordeaux. We pool our resources and skills in order to propose and develop projects that are functional, sensitive, energy-efficient and economical, and for which the atmosphere, functionality, comfort and safety are priority themes. We are vigilant about the overall cost of a structure and in particular its maintenance, which ensures its durability over time. Our approach is based on the construction logic and know-how of local companies, associated with the design of technical