The Rotiers project aims to give a renewed architectural identity to a 1960s social housing building while preserving the qualities of its setting. Located at the edge of the Sonian Forest and surrounded by mature trees, the building is renovated in close relation to its landscape. The intervention addresses several scales, from the building’s integration into the neighbourhood to the everyday experience of residents and neighbours, with particular attention to the dwellings, shared outdoor spaces and entrances.
The outdoor spaces were the starting point. Rather than prioritising private outdoor areas, the project invests in shared spaces through simple, economical interventions that encourage collective use and interaction. Two gardens organise the site. At the rear, a productive garden brings together an orchard, aromatic herbs and vegetable plots, available to residents, the neighbouring school and the wider community. At the front, a more equipped garden accommodates play, picnics and exercise. A planted swale provides a buffer between the outdoor areas and the ground-floor apartments while preserving daylight, and selective pruning opens up views across the site, improving visibility and supporting a greater sense of security.
The building is wrapped in a new, energy-efficient envelope finished with glazed ceramic tiles. Their reflective surface captures the changing light and shadows of the surrounding trees, giving the façade a shifting appearance throughout the day while maintaining a restrained relationship with the landscape. The new envelope improves the building’s energy performance and renews its architectural presence without erasing the identity of the existing structure.
The relationship between the building and its surroundings is further developed through enlarged openings and clearer connections to the landscape. New high-performance aluminium window frames, with lowered sills, bring more daylight into the dwellings and establish a closer visual relationship between interior and exterior. At the entrances, recessed niches shaped by the curved façade create legible thresholds, while a wider, gently sloping ramp improves accessibility. Together, the landscape, entrances and windows establish a gradual transition from the wooded surroundings to the privacy of the home.
The renovation was carried out while residents continued to occupy the building. The works were phased floor by floor, with prefabrication used to shorten the intervention in each apartment and limit disruption. Electrical and gas installations were brought up to standard, kitchens were renovated, and ventilation was improved through dedicated extraction ducts integrated into the façade.
Through these interventions, the project redefines the relationship between the building, its residents and the surrounding landscape. The renovation combines improved living conditions with a renewed architectural identity, placing shared spaces, accessibility and the everyday experience of inhabitants at the centre of the transformation.
