Domaxis is a social housing developer who owns a large land area in the city of Gagny (close to Paris). The plot is already occupied by a social housing residence “Les Dahlias”. The developer wants to sell a part of this plot (around 9500 sqm) on which a development program of hundred dwellings maximum could emerge. The sale of this land would allow the developer to renovate the residence.

 

The land has a steep slope and it is crossed on the north by an old buried aqueduct belonging to the municipality.

 

The project involves the densification the site (maximum 100 units) with a program with housing to sell.

 

The project we designed answers to this request by including  85 dwellings with different apartment types in response to urban regulations. There is only one building block parallel to the site limit. It is divided into 4 parts by setting back some part of the façade. This architectural trick gives the feeling to have 4 building instead of one. The site is very sloppy so to looks less voluminous, half of the building is 3 floors high and the other half is 2 floors high, giving the feeling that the building is following the site slope.

 

The position of the new buildings denatures as little as possible the existing garden. The land has a rich variety of plants and trees. It becomes a shared garden for all the inhabitants. New species will complement the site. The parking lots are inserted smoothly into the building volumes, most of them are integrated into the built masses and therefore are not noticeable. We occasionally find a few parking spaces outside.