Construction of 18 housing units
in solid stone

Client

Groupe Verrecchia

Architect

Atelier Cambium

Design team

BETRI (structural engineering), VIVIEN (MEP, HVAC), Qualiconsult (Technical auditor), IDEIA (roadways), SCBA (site management), Qualiconsult (health and safety protection)

Images credits

RUA Representing Unbuilt Architecture
Studio Bohème

Location

Le Bouscat (33), France

Programme

Construction of 18 housing units (13 collective housing units and 5 échoppe-style individual homes)

Surface area

1,620m2

Construction costs

3.3M€ pre-tax

Schedule

2020 - 2023

Status

Under construction

Labels

NF Habitat

Sitting atop a parking level, this property complex includes 18 housing units of different typologies, including 5 houses built in the style of the region’s traditional échoppes. This fragmenting of the built environment permits a more homogeneous articulation within the existing environment. Large recesses along the building’s three façades host vast terraces bordered by thick guardrails that are decorated with planters. The greenery softens the mineral quality of the façades, built using stone from a quarry in the Charente region, Sireuil, which has already supplied its stone to many constructions in Bordeaux. This helps ensure the project’s smooth integration into the surrounding cityscape.

Development

The project includes 18 housing units of different typologies: 13 collective units and 5 houses built in the style of the traditional échoppes. The entire property complex sits atop a partial infrastructure level that hosts all its parking areas. This fragmenting of the built environment permits a more homogeneous articulation within the existing environment.

Laying the first stone

The stone was chosen for its many qualities: a noble material, it is local and geosourced, and it provides a beneficial thermal phase shift.

Construction

Using traditional and contemporary techniques, the structural work constituted a significant technical challenge for this project. The building envelope will be completed in the first quarter of 2023, and construction will conclude by the end of this same year.