Flat Copper

31 May 2016

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Flat Copper

Badia Berger Architectes designed 86 apartments & retail space in the urban landscape of northeast Paris.

Badia Berger Architects

How were you commissioned?:
Winner of an architectural competition

Badia Berger Architects

How did the brief affect the materials and design choices?:
A copper shell, fitted to the site on the north, the façade reflects light far away and down to the canal. Inversely, the courtyard façade unites metal, concrete and vegetation to create a calming and peaceful space. On the courtyard side of the building, the vegetation becomes the priviliged material of a more intimate architecture. From the garden boxes installed on the balconies, climbing and hanging plants colonize the metal structures.

Badia Berger Architects

Can you explain the layout of the project:
Stretched to link up several urban universes, the project implants itself at the crossroads of diverse urban networks. By virtue of its verticality and the autonomy of its form, the building signals the intersection of these various networks.

Badia Berger Architects

What problems or challenges did you face?:
The quality of the apartments is expressed by the façades and the planted exterior extensions. Apartment buildings that have marked us, and leave everyone unaffected, are those that take form in an expression of a search for a high quality of life and dwelling. To do this in function of the urban situation of the site, we have chosen to express the double orientation of the units and in a highly contrasted manner. The interior of the site opens up at once to the north, intimately, and to the south. Along the Boulevard and at the corner, the design of the windows bears witness to a desired visual comfort.

Badia Berger Architects

What do you feel were the most unusual design elements of the project?:
The highly contrasted façades express the double orientation of the apartments. On the boulevard façade to the north, highly exposed to ambient noise from the street, the expression of a single window gives witness to the desired comfort and the will to open up the interiors to unique views. The façade detail offers the luxury of a large window yet respects the necessary acoustical insulation. This disposition allows the reduction of the operable windows while protecting the apartments acoustically. The repetition of the façades allows an economy of scale without sacrifices to precision while the pattern avoids monotony thanks to the power of the building volume and skin. At the corner, the rounded glass façade work as a hinge, assuring the shift between the two façades typologies.

Berger Architects

How do you think this project is pushing design forward? What makes it special?:
On the boulevard side, the building links up precisely with the neighbouring project. The façade is inflected to accompany the public space, a shell folding around the parcel limits. At the corner, the prow affirms the particularity of the site. The variation in building heights and architectures between the boulevard and the quai furthers the uniqueness of the two different expositions and public spaces - the two urban universes meet in one site. The split in the volumes articulates these two different façades as well as opening up the interior of the site and in harmony with the composition of the neighbouring one. It also permits views onto the inner garden which develops from the ground onto the façade. The visual porosity is reinforced by the treatment of the raised base of the project.

Badia Berger Architectes

Please provide details of product names and suppliers where possible.:
Program : 86 apartments and retail space Environmental certification : "Habitat and Environment" profile A, BBC, Climate plan of the city of Paris Site : 22-24 Quai de la Charente, 115 boulevard Mac Donald, 75019 Paris Client : SNI - SEMAVIP Architects : Badia Berger Lead architect : Alain Barthe Structural engineer : EVP Ingénierie HVAC and electrical engineers : JLR Construction economist : LTA Environmental engineers : OASIIS Acoustical engineer : Albino Taravella Landscape architect : ERA Paysage 6534m² of housing space, 452m² retail space Construction cost : 11.4M€ HT General contractor : Eiffage Project delivery date : 2015 Photos © Takuji Shimmura

Badia Berger Architectes

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