Tetris, Social Housing + Artist Studios

Paris, France

Photo © Luc Boegly

Architects: Moussafir Architectes

Year: 2010

The project is part of a larger urban program aimed at regenerating underprivileged neighbourhoods in Northern Paris. Nine residences and three artists’ studios were built on three narrow plots. The project was shaped by our intention to stay in harmony with the neighbourhood’s scale and density while maximizing space and daylight available to future residents. Standards established for social housing severely restrict the size of apartments, therefore we decided to differentiate interior volumes, creating an added spatial value, which subsequently led to increased amounts of natural light.

Perfect alignment with existing buildings and identical façade treatment ensure contextual integration of the project. The «commonplace» exterior is balanced by the singularity of living rooms. Each of the three buildings has one apartment per floor. The staggered arrangement of day and night zones allows for the difference in ceiling heights: 3,40 m for the living room versus 2,60 m for the bedroom. Blending the buildings’ outer envelopes with the surroundings erased the difference between the old and the new and provided a proper background for highlighting each individual residence with large bow windows that frame the increased height of the double-aspect living rooms. The principle equally applies to apartments and atéliers, emphasizing the fact that nowadays home and workspace tend to merge.