LAN . photos: © Julien Lanoo . © Cyrille Weiner
The site for this house is located on the edge of Clifden, a small town in the far West of Ireland. Despite its The development of the new Polaris district on the island of Nantes is a vast urban renewal operation that includes the construction of six new buildings with mixed programs and public space.
The urban project is based on the theory that the identity of a city emanates from its urban forms. The Brossette city block comprised of two contrasting formal systems, on one hand the courtyards and garden, on the other the great housing estates, must achieve a synthesis of these two models, in a way that establishes continuity and creates harmonious interconnections.
The iconic building of this new district, the 18-storey panoramic tower, renamed “360° View” is now completed. The other 5 buildings that accommodate housing, offices, student residence, Vatel campus and business premises will be delivered in the course of 2018.
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NANTES
URBAN RENOVATION
The most interesting and eye-opening feature of the Brossette parcel, with its porous urban space, is its ability to be crossed.
In this, the success of this project resides in how to leverage and amplify this exceptional condition. In response to «Why cross this parcel?» We must construct an answer which can be adopted by the community. This response can only be found within the site programming and the definition of these spaces. The challenge lies more within the definition of voids rather than volumes. Once these are in place, we have sought to establish permanencies, to activate spaces, and to polarize their uses.
Comprised of free, affordable, social, and student housing, schools, offices, a café, etc. The program is divided into different blocks dotting the parcel. The definition of each of these spaces is designed to meet programmatic requirements and the association of a specific characteristic to each place, in volumetric (size, proportions) and atmospheric terms (light, shadow, materiality, perception). The result is a hybrid approach that establishes almost spontaneously the identity of these places. The whole forms a completely new pedestrian area, with different themed gardens, which communicate with the architecture. The idea is to create a vast and unitary public space, which crosses through the whole site. This connects the different buildings with one another, and connects the land with its environment. The spatial organization then follows suit differently based on a system of gardens, addressing different styles of users, by providing different services.
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Client: Kaufman & Broad / Cost: € 41.2M excl. VAT / Surface: 33383 m² / Schedule: 2013 – 2018 / Architects of Lot 2: Abinal & Ropars / Architects of Lot 6: Fernandez & Serres / Structure: BETAP et SERBA / M.E.P.: ALBDO / Surveyor: Michel Forgue / HEQ: Franck Boutté / Landscaper: Base
Environmental Engineering: Burgeap / Safege
