Olympic Social Housing for Greater Paris / SOA Architectes

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The buildings on the Mail are connected together by a monumental two-level urban plinth. This base contains a dual-aspect hall and its large bicycle storage area, creating a visual connection between the Mail and the heart of the block. The color of the facades results from a collaboration with contemporary artist Morgane Tschiember and AkzoNobel factories around the concept of "skin building." The idea is to represent the fusion of the iconic red brick of Saint-Ouen with the various tones of the skin. We had to take advantage of the considerable thickness of 21 meters by 21 meters from the master plan. Servant spaces and floor cellars are nested at the core of the building, hence freeing up the perimeter.Text description provided by the architects.The project sits on the banks of the Seine, in Saint-Ouen, at the heart of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village. It is built on a former 19th-century industrial site. The urban project, designed by Dominique Perrault, features large "ships" perpendicular to the Seine, with a common skyline for each of the bases: "the waterline." The Belvedere block is one of these ships, set on the Mail Finot, the major landscaped area in the Village. At the center of the block, SOA has created a tall building (R+10) and two smaller buildings (R+5 and R+6) on the rear street.According to bioclimatic design, the facade openings are based on orientations. Large openings to the north onto the Mail Finot, provide a wide view of the urban perspective from the living room. Medium-sized openings to the south are protected by deep terraces. And small openings to the east and west for the bedrooms, reducing visibility into neighboring buildings. The overall opening ratio optimizes the thermal performance of the building.All the apartments in lot E1-B, except for a few studios, have dual orientations. They are designed around a common principle: the living rooms, located at the corners, benefit from multiple and unobstructed views. The kitchens and living rooms are arranged around a loggia or along a generous balcony. The steel cladding of the main building protects it from the elements and also ensures, through a system of consoles, corbels, and ties, the extension of the exterior spaces and their planted gardens.