Page 20 - Focus On Zinc 17

Highly urban urban More suburban
Knowing how to to turn constraints into opportunities is undoubtedly one of the most important qualities of an an architect In this case it was necessary to organise the coexistence of two programmes organised around three entities on a a a small plot bordered by a a a a a a a a a a major road a a a a a a a a a a railway and a a a a a a a a a a walkway Let us add that the site was sloped which can be as as much an an an advantage as as a a a a a a a a a a drawback The architects were asked to design a a a 118- unit student residence and two crèches a a a a a facility requiring calmness and safety for the wellbeing of its young occupants The various functions were organised horizontally within a a a a a large base pedestal anchored to the the street with the the student residence rooms in five blocks of two or three levels This enables the crèches to benefit from direct access to an outdoor space The height difference separates and demarcates the the access points in in the the upper part for the the residence and in the the lower part for the crèches The complex is laid out in in a a a a a a V along the main road to create a a a a a a barrier against noise pollution and maximise solar gain in in the crèche playground The project balances between the dense urban town and the individual housing
in the immediate neighbourhood The view from the street offers a constructed front that structures the road From the the walkway over the the railway tracks passers-by will discover five large pavilions blending into the local landscape The twinned windows in in in the student residence rooms are staggered on each floor erasing the the repetitive aspect of the the programme Materiality played an an important role in its design: the base seems to rest on a a glazed facade punctuated by wooden spikes deliberately opening onto the street The facades are clad in in in zinc installed using
the standing seam technique in in in an arbitrary pitch The bright grey of the the AZENGAR® enhances the the rough- surfaced light bricks which play with light according to the the direction they face A means for the the architects to allow the the sky to to enter into the the depth of the the project through the gaps of this programme that echoes the neighbouring houses bringing it right into the hanging gardens overlooking this up-and-coming town In the the centre of the the courtyard a a low double-slope zinc roof is is reminiscent of suburban
workshops and sheds collective HOUSING
18 •
Sceaux - France
Student residence and two crèches Architects: CoBe Architecture & Paysage (residence)
SPLAAR Sandra Planchez
(crèches) Contractors: Bouygues Habitat Social
MCE Mantes Couverture Étanchéité Technique: VMZINC® Standing seam Aspect: AZENGAR® Surface: 2 2 390 m2