MÉRIGNAC SOLEIL Mérignac (France) - 2016

Contexte & enjeux

The project combines the “pleasure of living in the city” with that of “living in a park”, and installs an evolving device on the Castorama site in the Mérignac Soleil district. This is a support capable of accommodating the unpredictable nature of land opportunities. Who knows which plots of land will become available, and in what order?

The conversion of the Castorama block aims to transform an extremely mineral, impermeable and arid site into a bioclimatic neighbourhood.

Between the suburban neighbourhoods and the commercial zone, two thematic axes extracted from the site structure the urban project: a green axis whose generous dimensions promise abundant renaturation. The elimination of automobile flows frees up a regenerated “green lung”, on which the residential complex turns. Secondly, the commercial axis: like a shopping street in the city.

Between Commerce and Housing, a calmed density: three strata offer three ways of living at progressive heights, according to a “crescendo” of scale.

– The low stratum, in the park, is an urban seam with the pavilions, made up of adjoining and superimposed dwellings, with an exterior that can be appropriated. These grouped villas constitute an alternative to the French ideal of a pavilion.

– The middle stratum, on the base, with intermediate housing with individualised access, either on one level or in duplexes, overlooking the extended Château Park. The outdoor spaces are varied: patios, terraces, private gardens overlooking the park.

– The high stratum of terraced collective housing on the fifth floor, above the shops, offers distant views and generous terraces.