Context
Facing Bordeaux’s iconic 18th-century "stone city," the Bastide-Niel district introduces an unconventional urban form. This area, crafted through heliotropic design and narrow street grids, features a unique series of building-islands shaped by the urban planner MVRDV. The aim is to extend the vibrant urban intensity of Bordeaux’s historic center across the Garonne River to its right bank. Roofs play a central role in the district’s architectural identity, creating a striking silhouette with varied scales and sloping planes. This diversity defines the district’s innovative urban fabric.
Key Challenges
Located along Quai des Queyries, adjacent to the “Parc aux Angéliques,” B09 accommodates 54 social rental housing units. The main architectural challenge was to embrace the complexity of a pre-defined volume while meeting residential program requirements. The project also sought to achieve a seamless continuity between walls and roofs, forming a unified envelope.
A “Classic” Mineral Aesthetic
The project’s material palette is rooted in a mineral aesthetic, adopting warm, sandy tones to echo the textures of traditional Bordeaux architecture. The facades feature blonde brickwork, seamlessly transitioning into tiled roofing to unify the structure. Despite the building’s sculptural and elevated volume, the facade design emphasizes domesticity. Materials are classic and tactile, inviting interaction on a human scale, while the building envelope integrates openings and uses that reflect the human dimension of the city.
Domestic Comfort
The building’s welcoming nature is conveyed through a series of carefully crafted architectural details: windows and railings, lintel and entablature designs, deep loggias, subtle projections on the southern facade, and habitable rooftops with tropéziennes.
To ensure privacy in this dense urban environment, windows and loggias are equipped with opaque lower panels, a vital feature for maintaining intimacy in high-density living conditions. Additionally, each loggia includes a built-in storage cabinet to enhance functionality and convenience.
A Thoughtful Entry Sequence
At the heart of the project lies the “vestibule,” a wide, open passage that provides residents with access to their homes. This transitional space bridges the public and private realms, while also serving as a pleasant, pedestrian-friendly area. The ground floor is elevated on a plinth to meet floodplain regulations, ensuring the building's resilience against potential water risks.
A Unified Vision
The B09 project combines aesthetic coherence and functional innovation to meet the challenges of contemporary urban living. Through its integration of classic materials, human-centered design, and thoughtful spatial organization, it not only respects but also enhances the district’s dynamic identity. This balance between modernity and tradition establishes B09 as a benchmark for inclusive and sustainable housing within the vibrant Bastide-Niel district.
