72 apartments in Bègles by LAN Architecture
LAN Architecture has won the competition to design a development of housing and shops in Bègles. The project addresses both respect for the environment and the social role of the building within the neighbourhood.
Comment from the architects:
A new ecological and social living environment fit for the 21st century. The richness and key interest of the project lie in the chance to invent a way of living that is both urban in character and set within a strongly experimental framework, allowing new, contemporary ecological architectures to assert themselves. The diversity of the architectural proposals and of the public, communal and private spaces must secure and highlight this distinctive quality.
The first step was to "sculpt" the volumes in order to exploit their potential for urbanity and their intrinsic spatial qualities. Our research led us towards a hybrid typology halfway between the detached house and collective housing.
The logic of stacking containers inspired our approach: a close study of living patterns, climatic conditions and the sun's path throughout the year suggested how to organise this superposition. The load-bearing structure is a column-and-slab system with a lightweight façade system, allowing us to achieve an ultra-high level of insulation.
The relatively shallow depth of the building blocks called for a strategic pursuit of compactness. The idea of variable compactness introduces the notion of a dwelling that adapts to the rhythm of the seasons and of the day: each resident can use their outdoor space as a windbreak, as a small climatic greenhouse or, conversely, as a machine for cooling and ventilating.
The form of each dwelling stems from a wish to develop homes that can work in many different ways, very simply and without technical overkill. We are therefore proposing dual-aspect apartments, each with an adaptable outdoor space and at least two orientations.
Gallery
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- © LAN Architecture
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