Architects:Brenac & Gonzalez & Associés

Area:1890m²

Year:2024

Photographs:Stefan Tuchila, Sergio Grazia

Manufacturers:GRAPHISOFT

Lead Architects:Brenac & Gonzalez & Associés

Project Owner:ICADE

Associate Architect:Emmanuel Person, Jean-Pierre Lévêque

Architect And Project Manager:Franck Denize

Design Team:Uaps (Architect Coordinator - Athlete's Village), Landscape TN Plus (Landscape)

Technical Team:Egis (Structure and Façades), Berim (Fluids), Oasiis (HQE), Spie Batignolles (Worksite), Edeis (Complex Infrastructures)

City:Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine

Country:France

Text description provided by the architects. We have made available our expertise as builders in the field of housing and new construction techniques, through innovative typological research based on the notion of metropolitan domesticity, uses and quality of life, whether for apartments or communal areas.`. In contrast to historical references, we thought in terms of heritage, so that this new district would be a "long-term" place to live as a family within the dynamics of Greater Paris while offering athletes the opportunity to show their hospitality beforehand. Our work focused on the design of cells that could be quickly and cost-effectively converted to residential use. Our intervention focuses on three strategic buildings, plots 1, 5 and 8.

Plot 5 maintains a courteous relationship with the Quinconces, which governs the plot's grid, by running alongside the central forest that crosses the entire length of the site.

Its architecture is sober, rigorous and unpretentious. It does not seek to be ostentatious or demonstrative, preferring by far the idea of a generous thought inscribed around a narrative, offering everyone different levels of reading according to their subjectivity and the point of view they occupy. A narrative inspiration in dialogue with the adjoining Cité du Cinéma, using ornamentation to elegantly question the design of certain architectural elements, such as balustrades, windows and blinds.

Alternating glazed and matt terracotta tiles create large-scale motifs across the façade. The patterning is also reminiscent of tartan weave, or the brick ornamentation found at the Meunier chocolate factory or on the Jules Ferry schools; its reading is revealed furtively and in fragments according to the time of day or the light. With its dark ochre color, it becomes a warm, structured landmark, punctuating the crossing with a subtle nod to Mediterranean architecture, with its fine gradation of facade textures and typologies.

Project gallery

Project location

Address:Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, France