Shift perspective
Paris
Located near the Stalingrad station and the Bassin de la Villette, this building—comprising 16 social housing units and a local shop—stands at the corner of Boulevard de la Villette and Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Martin. Initiated by the SIEMP, a social housing provider dedicated to combating substandard housing, this project plays a pivotal role in the neighborhood’s urban fabric. Highly visible from both the street and the elevated metro, the plot is exposed to a high volume of surrounding traffic and pedestrian flows.
Several questions guided the design process: How to protect residents from outside views? How to define this corner situated at one of northeastern Paris’s busiest intersections? What materials to use to withstand pollution? How to elevate a budget-constrained project in a particularly exposed environment? The responses needed to be bold and decisive in such a distinct urban context.
Rather than a traditional chamfered corner, the design asserts a sharp yet recessed angle, opening up a small public square along Boulevard de la Villette.
Several questions guided the design process: How to protect residents from outside views? How to define this corner situated at one of northeastern Paris’s busiest intersections? What materials to use to withstand pollution? How to elevate a budget-constrained project in a particularly exposed environment? The responses needed to be bold and decisive in such a distinct urban context.
Rather than a traditional chamfered corner, the design asserts a sharp yet recessed angle, opening up a small public square along Boulevard de la Villette.
This extension of the public realm highlights the entrance to the apartments and creates a small forecourt in front of the ground-floor bakery. At its outer edges, the facades extend the lines of the surrounding urban fabric, aligning with the neighboring buildings. The street-facing facades feature oriented views designed to preserve the privacy of the homes.
The angled, precisely cut windows direct the eye toward key visual landmarks—the basin, the quays, and the Rotunda by Claude Nicolas Ledoux—while preventing direct overlook.
The angled, precisely cut windows direct the eye toward key visual landmarks—the basin, the quays, and the Rotunda by Claude Nicolas Ledoux—while preventing direct overlook.
- Adress267 Faubourg dSaint-Martin
- FRESH Team MemberJulien Faure
Damiano Barire
Jean Baptiste Astruc
Daniela Trocio
Charles Follain - ProgramConstruction of 16 social housing units and a commercial space.
- Floor Area1 500 m²
- Cost3,9 M€ HT
- ClientSIEMP
- PartnersNoble ingénierie
Tempere construction
Technis - PerformancePlan Climat Paris, BBC, H&E Profil A
- StatusDelivered
- Year2013