The Mayor of Montlouis-sur-Loire has launched an ambitious urban study
for the creation of a new town center – the Zone d’AménagementConcertée
(ZAC), or special planning district, known as the “Heart of the City” –
in this municipality of 12,000 inhabitants situated on the left bank of
the Loire, 12 kilometers east of TOURS. A vast area of land was made
available before beginning this urban development project, which
comprises a diverse range of residences and services surrounding a
landscaped public park. The town has demonstrated its ecological
commitment by choosing a project management team with extensive
experience in environmentally conscious design. The architect Philippe
MADEC, a specialist in the subject, directed the team (BLM architects
& BROISSAND Architects) in defining the urban project and the ground
plan for the new constructions.
Architects: BROISSAND arch
Location: Montlouis-sur-Loire, France
Architect In Charge: Renaud Broissand
Architects Collaborators: Eric Hardy, Augustin Brisedou
Area: 3,120 sqm
Year: 2012
Photographs: David Boureau
“The sequencing of the buildings (vertical and horizontal,
architectural, etc.) will extend the diversity of the surrounding
structures. The goal is to avoid creating a monolithic effect in the new
section of town, which would contrast brutally with the existing,
heterogeneous built environment. The buildings’ thin volumes should,
incidentally, encourage the maximum number of housing accommodations
with double exposure. The town and the developer are aiming to
concretize a town-center project that is qualitative on all levels:
landscape, architecture, quality of housing, functional diversity and
environmental quality.”
Our architectural plan for 49 social housing estates was the first to be
launched after the municipality’s approval of the urban planning
project. In order to extend and concretize the environmental
requirements indicated in the specifications for the project, we
undertook our study after having visited several exemplary developments
with similar environmental and economic objectives and built within a
comparable urban context. The eco-district of Freiburg in Germany was
amongst the emblematic and persuasive experiments that have influenced
our work, and with which we wish to affirm a connection. The special
relationship maintained between private and collective areas (the
communal service areas – the exterior spaces) is particularly successful
and establishes the conditions for effective community-living and
social interaction. During our visit, we noted the quality of public
spaces (interior and exterior), sites of exchange and collective
activity upon which the success of such a project depends.
The quantifiable energy aspect (solar panels – insulation – heat production – etc.) of the environmental agenda is combined with the implementation of collective residential practices designed to encourage the sharing of equipment (crèches – laundry facilities – garage – etc.) and resources (water – heating – waste disposal). These two aspects of the sustainable development approach are complementary, demonstrating the success of this eco-district: ecology as a practice of the collective habitat.
from archdaily