Archiducs

Programme: Construction of 59 housing units, a medical center, and a nursery for 48 children

About: Bordering a neighborhood imagined and built during the first half of the last century, the Archiducs project creates housing adapted to current social, ecological and economic issues. The project generates an architectural image adapted to an urban context with a strong identity. The nursery and medical center facilities formalize the alignment on the Square: their low height and the geography of the plot allows the perception of the inner courtyard. From this base, three collective buildings radiate out in a comb-like pattern. Individual houses complete the alignment on Berensheide Street. The layout of the building completes the monumental scale of the Square without harming the porosity of the block. The decreasing scale of the buildings (6, 5 and 4 floors) integrates the neighborhood and sunlight considerations. Architecturally, the three buildings are treated as belonging to the same family, their facades are turned towards the site for reasons of sunlight. The heads are worked into staircases to offer terraces to the dwellings and refine the volume. Each building thus obtains its own identity.