benjamin fleury, Sergio Grazia · 7 POSITIVE ENERGY HOUSING UNITS (BEPOS)

Photos by Sergio Grazia

CONTEXT
Following the eviction by SOREQA of a negligent landlord who was renting out unsanitary dwellings in a building entirely unfit for habitation, and after a conclusive structural diagnosis, ELOGIE-SIEMP decided to demolish the latter and build in its place a positive-energy project. The technical and architectural challenge of this seven-unit, seven-story operation lies in designing a BEPOS (positive-energy) project along the noisy Barbès Boulevard, while ensuring a fine integration within the complex urban fabric of this area. Boulevard Barbès is a unique place, marked by high commercial density and constant traffic congestion. This environment, composed of a succession of shops and outdoor stands, attracts a diverse crowd of shoppers and passersby. Before the transformation of the former TATI store, the neighborhood retained several iconic landmarks, such as the Le Louxor cinema, the Le Barbès brasserie, and the elevated metro viaduct, with its suspended station surrounded by street healers and unlicensed vendors. The project plot is framed by two buildings of distinct styles and periods: • At No. 6, a typical 19th-century Haussmannian building with its first two levels in striated stone, individual wrought-iron balconies from the 2nd to 4th floors, a continuous balcony on the 5th floor, and a zinc mansard roof on the 6th floor. The whole composition emphasizes horizontality. • At No. 10, a 1930 Art Deco building where the Haussmannian horizontality gives way to a strong vertical expression. Pilasters, pediments, and floral ironwork are replaced by geometric ornamentation. The shared use of dressed stone from Parisian quarries nonetheless unifies the two buildings. Moreover, the ornamental richness of their façades recalls the area’s former luxury, while the contemporary horizontal animation of the commercial ground floors contrasts with this historical verticality.
DESIGN Bioclimatic Layout - The floor plan was designed to optimize solar gains and reduce energy needs: Living spaces face due west, overlooking the boulevard, with large picture windows. Wet rooms are naturally lit on the courtyard side, facing east. The staircase, also lit from the courtyard, features a glazed door on each landing, allowing borrowed light. Façade Composition Choice of exposed concrete: the street façade is made of insulated precast concrete walls, with a sand-colored, through-body tint and sandblasted finish. This contemporary “liquid stone” resonates with the historic stone of the adjoining buildings. Verticality and horizontality: A vertical grid structures the façade, unifying solid parts, joinery, and shutters (sliding or folding). Concrete floor edges emphasize the horizontal layering of the floors while concealing the shutter rails. The façade thus superimposes both grids, offering an architectural transition between the Haussmannian and Art Deco styles.
Ornamentation: The neighboring buildings feature wrought-iron railings and stone window surrounds. In response, the project’s façade includes: Vertical-bar railings with a wooden upper rail, A series of metallic shutters (sliding or folding) made of bronze-colored expanded mesh, forming a contemporary ornamentation. Design of a High-Performance Thermal Envelope • To achieve the BEPOS label, priority was given to a thermal-bridge-free envelope, thus minimizing the need for energy compensation: • External insulation (street): precast concrete + 20 cm glass wool, • External insulation (courtyard): mineral render on 20 cm glass wool, • Complementary internal insulation: 6 cm, • Thermal bridge breakers on all floor edges, • Wooden triple-glazed joinery.
Dual-Flow Ventilation
To optimize heat recovery and improve acoustic insulation, a dual-flow ventilation system was installed: • Recovery of extracted heat, • Elimination of direct air inlets, • Fresh air intake from the roof, less polluted than that of the boulevard. Heating and Domestic Hot Water • As the most energy-intensive aspect remains domestic hot water production, the following system was implemented: • Solar preheating via three solar panels connected to a ground-floor storage tank, • This tank is connected to individual gas boilers.
Electricity Production To offset the energy consumption linked to ventilation, heating, domestic hot water, the elevator, and the lighting of common areas, a field of photovoltaic panels was installed on the roof. Main Manufacturers
• Exposed precast wall (street): Soriba • Precast wall (interior and courtyard): KP1 • External insulation (courtyard): STO • Dual-flow ventilation: Aldés • Exterior joinery: Bieber • Sliding and folding shutters: Tamiluz • Solar hot water panels: Viessmann • Photovoltaic panels: Solstyce • PVC flooring: Forbo

CREDITS Project Name: 7 Housing in Paris Barbès Office Name: Benjamin Fleury Architecte-Urbaniste Office Website: https://www.benjaminfleury.com Social Media Accounts: https://www.instagram.com/benjamin_fleury_architecte/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063475811478 Contact email: atelier@benjaminfleury.com Firm Location: Montreuil, France Completion Year: 2025 Gross Built Area (m2/ ft2): 444 m² Project location: Paris, France Program: 7 vacant rental housing Lead Architects: Benjamin Fleury Lead Architects e-mail: atelier@benjaminfleury.com Photographer Photo Credits: © Sergio Grazia Photographer’s Website: http://www.sergiograzia.fr/ Photographer’s e-mail: info@sergiograzia.fr