Thermosolar Panels on a Facade 17 Council Flats Housing With Innovative Technology Completed in the 18th Arrondissement of Paris.
The Philippon-Kalt architects firm has just delivered the first
block of council flats, opposite the Barbès metro station,
with a façade in solar thermal collectors.
An atypical energy-efficient façade in a protected site
17 council flats designed for very low-income families have
been built in a highly regulated area implementing innovative
environmental technics.
The façade proudly displays its solar thermal collectors over
the Boulevard de la Chapelle, capturing the free energy from
the sun in order to supply 44% of hot water needs. A control
system checks the performance of the solar hot water production
system.
Solar thermal glass Robin Sun were used with a specific
construction site notice for this project, in the absence of any
technical advice.
Double skin, double use : the solar panels reflect the image of an
energy-efficient atypical technical façade, within the protected
area of listed monuments.
These preserves flats’ privacy, hiding them from view of the
passengers on the elevated metro line. These also create
private balconies, with acoustic masks which form a screen wall,
protecting them from the noise coming from the Boulevard de
la Chapelle.
Mixed structural forms and private external balconies for each flat
The play of transparency in the hall, the views from the landings over the
flower gardens and the location of the bicycle storage area in the middle of
the project make for creating relations between the residents in the block of
flats and those in the maisonettes.
The residents reach their flats from their private terraces, on the ground
floor and the second floor. The flats overlooking the street have large bay
windows opening on to south-facing balconies.
In autumn, the brilliant colours of the maple trees echo the red doors of the
houses and the canvas that protects the bicycles from bad weather.
• Relevant environmental technicalmeasures
On the street side, because of thevery regulated environment (BR3classification due to the noise of the metro), the non-bearing façade comprises only the elements necessary for maximum thermal and acoustic insulation. It is covered with a facing in light-coloured thermo-lacquered steel to diffuse the light towards the inside of the flats, via the reflective
internal surface of the solar thermal collectors. In the courtyard, the usual principle of outside insulation was chosen and the terraces of the town houses are covered with plants.
For added environmental benefit, the rainwater will be stored, filtered and reused for watering and cleaning the common areas.
ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS AND
URBAN CONTEXT
On a well-exposed plot of land, the façade reflects the environmental commitment of the contractors and the project managers and their desire to integrate the projectin the City. Located next to an undeveloped piece of land, the façade imitates the classic composition of Parisian façades in three parts. Here, the central part, marked out by a framework on the same scale as the façade, is separated from the base by the hollow joints of the black metal blades. The random positioning of the glass collectors of the captors gives the front of the building the look of an abstract composition, softening the materiality of the floor-bearing structure, reduced
to a fine line of aluminium. By collecting the sun’s energy, the whole façade comes to life with the weather conditions : the sun’s rays make the solar thermal collectors shine and project their shadows onto the inside of the balconies, and the clouds and the movements of the overhead metro trains are reflected in the glass panels. On the ground floor, the shop and the glass doors of the through hallway ensuring a fluid passage between the street and the indoor garden, add to the animation of this very busy boulevard in the Goutte d’Or district.
