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Bègles Labro, Bègles, Bordeaux, FR

The site lies between a low-rise, mixed use neighbourhood and the ‘Delta Vert’, a large park and nature reserve on the banks of La Garonne. In 2012, the site was ear-marked for redevelopment as part of a city-wide project calling for 50,000 new affordable homes to be built in Bordeaux along lines of public transport.

Following a masterplan by OMA for the surrounding areas, the local municipality agreed on an ambitious densification of the site with high-rise living set in an open landscape that could function as a gateway to the Delta Vert. Studio Woodroffe Papa were one of five teams selected to participate in a limited competition to translate OMA’s planning guidelines into a architectural project.

The scheme is composed of four blocks in which workspace and social amenities activate the ground level and direct movement through the site. Car parking, which was too expensive to realise underground due to the high water table, is incorporated into an undulating landscape, consisting of terraces and gentle slopes. The landscape induces movements through the site, covers the parking and surrounds the common areas. It extends to the buildings forming rooftop gardens and terraces.

Above, the residential program is distributed in four high-rise’ elements that vary from 8 to 13 levels. Private space for each residential unit is provided in the form of a loggia. These contribute to the project's environmental performance by creating a buffer zone that maximizes solar energy gains and improves the thermal insulation of apartments during winter and summer. They constitute an outdoor space for every inhabitant, protected from the rain and sun. And they can function as a real extension of living spaces during the warmer seasons. The 175 units are designed as a wide variety of housing typologies: double aspect corner apartments, duplex apartments, open plan, single aspect apartments. The facades combine wooden panels with pre-cast concrete panels. The warmth and softness of the wood brings a human scale and material interface between the project and its newly formed surroundings.

Bègles Labro, Bègles, Bordeaux, FR

 

Client

DomoFrance, Logévie, Bouygues Immobilier

Design team

Studio Woodroffe Papa + Rémi Salles

Programme

175 apartments

400 m2 amenities and workspace

175 parking spaces

Site area

1.6 ha

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