Sergison Bates architects . Bourbouze & Graindorge
International competition to transform part of a 3.4 hectares site in the 14th arrondissement into a new mixed-use development. The Saint-Vincent-de-Paul site is a densely planted area surrounded by high walls, originally occupied by a convent which was later repurposed as a hospital. The new masterplan is organised around the two original orthogonal routes that crossed the former hospital, and we will be working on one of the four ‘islands’ that make up the new quarter in collaboration with Bourbouze & Graindorge.
Rather than a finished, static proposal, the project team developed an active place-making strategy, breaking up the programme set out in the brief into three main buildings. Together with the existing old laundry building, they will provide 100 affordable and 81 subsidised apartments and 1500m2 of light industrial workspace, together with a range of commercial uses.
The project focuses on the space between buildings as much as on the buildings themselves: covered canopies organise access to the halls, common spaces and bicycle parking, and the continuity of the “common ground” is reinforced by the buildings’ chamfered edges, which create generous, open public spaces. On the lower ground of the buildings, work spaces naturally lit by the so-called “cours Anglaises” invite cultural, creative and productive uses.
The existing community programme that brings together a number of local associations will be at the heart of the consultation process, which is due to start in January 2020.
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