Students Residence
The installation of a university residence and a residence for young workers in La Duchère is an integral part of the transformation this neighborhood has been undergoing for more than fifteen years as part of the Grand Projet de Ville. Now completed, these two residences contribute to the diversification of the existing housing offering, the richness of the neighborhood's life, and its diversity in all its forms.
The project could not be "oriented" or present main or secondary facades. On the contrary, it had to consider its entire environment with equal attention and offer the same urban and architectural qualities on all sides.
Its relationship to public spaces, its relationship to the ground, the choice of functions located on the ground floors, the clarity of its operation, and its materiality were also essential because the building is and will be bordered, seen, and "touched" along its entire perimeter.
Finally, its volume and architectural style were designed to assert its presence and identity in relation to the panoramic tower, the "queen of the neighborhood," which it still dominates with its full stature. Under these conditions, the project could find its place and legitimacy in La Duchère neighborhood, balancing respect for the past with a commitment to the ongoing transformation.
The project's plot, the topography of the site, the intentions expressed in the specifications, and the respective "sizes" of the two residences all contributed to the project's definition in its broad masses, its overall operation, and the distribution of the programs.
It thus comprises a long, four-story building on the east side housing the university residence (105 apartments) and a small, six-story "tower" on the west side housing the young workers residence (39 apartments).
The gap that connects them provides access to the two residences, with a lower access point to the north on Rue François Giroud and an upper access point to the south on the forecourt.
It "extends" the gap between the panoramic tower and the building located at its base. The two buildings are distinguished by the "orientation" of their volume—horizontal for the university residence, vertical for the young workers residence—and by different, optimal thicknesses defined according to the number and type of housing units created per level or the distribution method, while preserving the spatial qualities, uses, and natural lighting of all areas.
In contrast to the horizontality of the university residence, the small tower of the young workers residence accentuates its vertical dimension as a counterpoint and homage to the panoramic tower, a verticality also reinforced by the recess of the access porch built into the fault. On a smaller scale, the two buildings are hollowed out in the upper floors to magnify the relationships between the horizontal volume of the university residence and the vertical volume of the young workers residence, notably with two vertical faults on the south and north facades of the university residence, created to divide the volume while preserving its horizontality and to naturally light the landings in several places.
Composed of prefabricated concrete panels and metal joinery and hardware, the project's facades are highly educational. They clearly express its identity, make its functionality clear, and reveal its structural principle. They vibrate in the light with their texture, their colors, and the metallic stain applied to the concrete. Their very contemporary expression is also a tribute to the neighborhood's past, where concrete reigned supreme, and to the panoramic tower that still illustrates this reality.
