This housing project in the Versailles-Chantiers district is part of a restructuring operation on 3.5 ha adjacent to the station of the same name. Intended for different audiences, this 21,400 m² complex accommodates 376 housing units divided between accession, social housing, residence for seniors and student residence, artists' studios and a crèche. The city's urban regulations imposed specific dimensions on the buildings as well as the use of traditional facade materials. In keeping with these principles, the themes that guided Elizabeth de Portzamparc are the relationship between contemporary architecture and heritage, the link with nature and the landscape as well as generational and social diversity.
Brick and zinc are used in the four buildings. The facades are clad in greyish pink brick, punctuated by vertical windows and rounded corners. Dancing balconies lighten the imposing mass of the buildings and the relative austerity of the brickwork. The program and the typology of housing according to the profile of the inhabitants offer a real social and generational mix. The architect thought of the garden as an opportunity for cohabitation and exchanges between these different populations. In the same spirit, it has succeeded in freeing up a large coworking space on the north ground floor which will promote social exchanges with the neighborhood.
Nature is very present with the large garden of flowers and trees located in the heart of the block, the green terraces, the shared garden on the terrace of the senior housing and the green terraces on the roofs. The whole construction is softened by all this greenery, and the gardens recall one of the fundamentals of the identity of Versailles, a green city where the quality of the outdoor spaces and the gardens underlines the quality of the architecture.
This housing project in the Versailles-Chantiers district is part of a restructuring operation on 3.5 ha adjacent to the station of the same name. Intended for different audiences, this 21,400 m² complex accommodates 376 housing units divided between accession, social housing, residence for seniors and student residence, artists' studios and a crèche. The city's urban regulations imposed specific dimensions on the buildings as well as the use of traditional facade materials. In keeping with these principles, the themes that guided Elizabeth de Portzamparc are the relationship between contemporary architecture and heritage, the link with nature and the landscape as well as generational and social diversity.
Brick and zinc are used in the four buildings. The facades are clad in greyish pink brick, punctuated by vertical windows and rounded corners. Dancing balconies lighten the imposing mass of the buildings and the relative austerity of the brickwork. The program and the typology of housing according to the profile of the inhabitants offer a real social and generational mix. The architect thought of the garden as an opportunity for cohabitation and exchanges between these different populations. In the same spirit, it has succeeded in freeing up a large coworking space on the north ground floor which will promote social exchanges with the neighborhood.
Nature is very present with the large garden of flowers and trees located in the heart of the block, the green terraces, the shared garden on the terrace of the senior housing and the green terraces on the roofs. The whole construction is softened by all this greenery, and the gardens recall one of the fundamentals of the identity of Versailles, a green city where the quality of the outdoor spaces and the gardens underlines the quality of the architecture.
This housing project in the Versailles-Chantiers district is part of a restructuring operation on 3.5 ha adjacent to the station of the same name. Intended for different audiences, this 21,400 m² complex accommodates 376 housing units divided between accession, social housing, residence for seniors and student residence, artists' studios and a crèche. The city's urban regulations imposed specific dimensions on the buildings as well as the use of traditional facade materials. In keeping with these principles, the themes that guided Elizabeth de Portzamparc are the relationship between contemporary architecture and heritage, the link with nature and the landscape as well as generational and social diversity.
Brick and zinc are used in the four buildings. The facades are clad in greyish pink brick, punctuated by vertical windows and rounded corners. Dancing balconies lighten the imposing mass of the buildings and the relative austerity of the brickwork. The program and the typology of housing according to the profile of the inhabitants offer a real social and generational mix. The architect thought of the garden as an opportunity for cohabitation and exchanges between these different populations. In the same spirit, it has succeeded in freeing up a large coworking space on the north ground floor which will promote social exchanges with the neighborhood.
Nature is very present with the large garden of flowers and trees located in the heart of the block, the green terraces, the shared garden on the terrace of the senior housing and the green terraces on the roofs. The whole construction is softened by all this greenery, and the gardens recall one of the fundamentals of the identity of Versailles, a green city where the quality of the outdoor spaces and the gardens underlines the quality of the architecture.