On 117 rue de Ménilmontant in one of Paris’s busy northern neighborhoods, VIB Architecture took possession of a long and narrow plot to construct and rehabilitate several buildings for a mixed-use program: a residence with 89 student housing and a nursery for 66 children.

Courtesy of Cyrille Lallement

The faubourg of Belleville, located on one of the two main hills of Paris, is characterized by its heterogeneous architecture, with buildings from various times, with different heights and various programs. One of them is the “Pavillon du Carré Baudouin” built in the XVIIIth century as a place of pleasure and leisure, which is now an exhibition space attached to a small park open to the public. There are also an old orphanage, some Haussman buildings or small houses and workshops. The neighborhood is also known for its passages and small alleys that irrigate the urban fabric in depth.

Courtesy of Cyrille Lallement

Vib’s project, built on this rich context, organizes several buildings new or rehabilitated from the street to the heart of the faubourg. They individually answer to the specific context and participate to the multifaceted picture of the “Belleville Village”.

The project takes advantage of Paris’s specific urban rules: apartments are located on the street and rise to the 7th floor, while the childcare center is located around a quiet and sunny courtyard at the back, among smaller scale additions and small roofs. The existing building links the two programs together.

The front building is itself fragmented and split in two. The first part stands out along the park with rounded corners and aluminum skin while the second building picks up the geometrical typology of the nearby buildings and declines towards the middle of the plot and the existing building. The porch created by the two volumes initiates the main composition axis and leads to the childcare center and its inner garden

Courtesy of Cyrille Lallement

The Entry Building : The student building’s ground plan is designed around several main flux like the path to the nursery and the vehicle and pedestrian access to the next door’s yard. It also houses the lobby for the apartments, the student community room and the bike-park. The glazed staircase allows an inter-stage use and facilitates exchanges between students, without imposing the use of the elevator. The wing of the building on the park side, with its aluminum skin, hosts 49 students on 7 floors. The other part of the building hosts 32 students on 7 floors and offers on the 5th floor a common rooftop with a panoramic view of Paris. All rooms are suitable for disabled people.