76 housing units designed by PietriArchitectes

As part of an urban complex designed by Leclercq Associés, this project, called The Sequoias, has the particularity of establishing itself in an environment rich in biodiversity. For that reason, the architectural drawing was oriented towards the conservation and the preservation of the natural environment. Although both buildings are quite different from one another, they are also very similar in terms of colors, as well as through the way they tend to fit into the environment, which is a highly valued consideration by PietriArchitectes in their projects.

Photo credit: Hugo Hébrard

A district full of history and nature

The project is situated in the district of Vilgénis, located in the Northwest part of the city. The site includes a natural park of more than 20 hectares, as well as a castle and other classified monuments. The sector was previously an Air France property, but for the past 10 years it has been converted into a new residential area and an accessible public space in the forest. The entire site is accessible to the inhabitants in order to promote a spirit of “living together” while honoring and respecting biodiversity and the site's natural heritage.

An urban program focused on the environment and its preservation

The redevelopment project was carried out by Leclercq Associés, recognized for their transversal approach between urban planning, architecture, and landscape. Located in front of the park, the urban program takes part in the landscape by preserving the visual perspectives and maintaining the biodiversity of the site. The residential homes were designed by architects with various backgrounds, including KOZ Architectes, Itar Architectes, and Ameller Dubois, who successfully fulfilled the environmental requirements. The role of PietriArchitectes takes hold within the global strategy, and with the design of two buildings fitted to the context.

Photo credit: Hugo Hébrard

Two complementary, yet opposing architectures

The studio’s project involves a 76-unit program, divided into two separate volumes. The complex is articulated around a garden, preserving several remarkable trees, and proposes two different architectural identities. The first building is cubic and monolithic, and offers overlapping duplex apartments. On the North side, the brick façade, perforated by discreet windows, provides privacy to the dwellings. On the garden side, generous balconies made from raw concrete appear like an exoskeleton. The second building is composed of apartments arranged in layers organized according to the topography, enabling them to benefit from favorable solar orientation. Each apartment also has a generous terrace or loggia. The design of the two buildings was also conceived with the idea of preserving existing trees on the site and, in particular, a spectacular black pine. The two buildings play with identical materials and similar hues: beige brick, a light-stained plaster, Japanese-style burnt wood, and precast concrete. The burnt wood is derived from an ancestral Japanese method and is an eco-responsible material obtained from the plant biomass. Furthermore, its dark color echoes the majestic black pine of the site. The entire project features dark wood carpentry that highlights the design of the openings of each building. Despite a humid environment linked to the presence of the forest, the materials used are noble and sustainable, and they respond to a desire for sustainability and complete harmony.

Photo credit: Hugo Hébrard

The project and its environment

Both buildings are bordered by a new road and a pedestrian path connecting the park and the inhabited forest. The ground floor provides access to a semi-buried parking area, thus reducing the noise and visual nuisances induced by cars. The parking are is topped by the garden, with its construction benefiting from the topography to prevent a deep dig into the earth. The project also adapts itself to the needs of tomorrow by offering more than a hundred bicycle parking spots. To respond to the sustainable ambition, all the roofs are vegetated and coupled to a rainwater retention device. The height of the West and East buildings is adapted to the conserved trees and topography of the site. The aim of PietriArchitectes is to put the forest at the heart of the project, with a desire to conserve the existing vegetation. In fact, each tree torn down during the construction site was replanted, with new plantations developed to preserve the identity of the site. Through The Sequoias, PietriArchitectes is convinced that architectural research can still provide solutions to achieve quality housing that is environmentally respectful, thus enabling a true "living together" environment.

About PietriArchitectes

Jean-Baptiste Pietri, originally from Marseille and a graduate of Paris-Belleville School of Architecture, settled in Paris 30 years ago and founded his agency in 2001. His team, comprised of twenty collaborators, is based in the 11th district of Paris. PietriArchitectes builds throughout France, allowing itself to confirm the plurality of its architectural vocabulary, adapted to the building context, while deploying a style of its own. Jean-Baptiste Pietri claims an architectural approach that is both precise and poetic, built and developed around a philosophy: The Romantic Rationalism. The concept articulates a rigorous and optimized construction design with a rather expressive interpretation of the site. Moreover, the nobility of the materials used, sometimes made-to-measure, holds a primordial place in each project's design.