The young workers' hostel is incorporated within the framework of urban renewal undertaken by the local town council of a small residential neighbourhood of central St Nazaire, in surroundings of a semi-suburban aspect. It’s located on the eastern boundary of the district, forming a main facade onto a street which weaves along at the back of private gardens. The compact volume distances itself from two existing buildings allowing for the creation of planted open space. Its singular external cladding sets up a dialogue with the town in a mimetic play: the light-transiting slatted vertical larchwood planking, the diamond-shaped grey-laquered slates and the lacquered corrugated steel. They are mounted in rather a playful way, in the iconic form of a house, realized in concrete and insulated from the exterior. The programme only called for accommodation (the shared spaces are found in the main building). Nevertheless the idea of shared spaces is present in the porch, the staircase and the large walkways which lead to the 14 bedsits and 4 flat-shares. These apartments, which are all dual-aspect, are equipped with sliding partitions, enabling the opening-up or dividing-off of the different spaces and thus offering different spatial configurations to the residents.
