Construction of 65 housing units in the Bastide Niel joint development zone, or ZAC

Developer

SAS Bastide Niel (Bordeaux Métropole Aménagement (mandataire), Domofrance et Aquitanis)

Project management of the urban development

MVRDV (architect – coordinating developer for the ZAC), A+R Paysage (landscape architects), Artelia (roadways and project coordination), GEOSAT (surveyor), Atelier raisonné (sustainable development consultant), ArcaGée (environmental consultant), BECS (health and safety coordinator)

Project owner

Crédit Agricole Immobilier

Architects

Atelier Cambium (Lead Architect), OLGGA (Associate Architects)

Design team

A+R Paysages (landscape architects), KEPHREN (structure), AMB (environment/heating), NEC (fluids/electricity), C3 (façades), B2iX (project coordination)

Image credits

RUA Representing Unbuilt Architecture
[ATELIER] CAUMES
OLGGA
Alban de Jong
We Are Contents

Location

Bordeaux (33), France

Programme

New construction of 65 housing units and a workshop space for an artisan

Surface area

4.350 m2

Construction costs

9,5 M€ pre-tax

Status

Completed

Schedule

2019 - 2024

Label

RT 2012

Situated within the Bastide Niel ZAC in Bordeaux, this 65-housing unit project, which was designed together with OLGGA for the developer CA Immobilier, strives to embody the architectural and urban development precepts defined by MVRDV as faithfully as possible: a monolith effect, visual continuity, and clearly defined patterns to ensure maximum exposure to sunlight. The six buildings form an archipelago. Their concrete facades incorporate the stone walls of the former military barracks without needing any structural support; this creates an envelope that is both mixed and continuous. Long-gone sheds are evoked through a change in the tint of the concrete along certain parts of the base, like a palimpsest.

Masterplan

144 blocks, 144 volumes. Each building within the Bastide Niel ZAC is unique in its form. The footprint derives from the railway lines that used to traverse the space, while the building height maximizes the apartment’s direct exposure to sunlight.

The embodiment of the urban, architectural, and landscape principles underlying the ZAC urban development zone, the arrangement of the six blocks and the treatment of the common areas recreate a sense of neighbourhood life at a very local scale.

Facades

The housing units have generous volumes and views of the entire ZAC urban development zone, along with large, open terraces.

Construction

The unique volume and visual continuity of the envelope (i.e., its roof and façade) defined by MVRDV for the entire urban development generate technical challenges in terms of ensuring watertightness and managing rainwater.

Plan

The housing units were designed to achieve a balance between the plan’s rationality and the rich spatial experience deriving from their complex volumes.

Within the archipelago of blocks in the Bastide Niel ZAC, the morphology and materiality of these 65 housing units embody the urban and architectural precepts set forth by MVRDV.