An athletes' village for a high-performance city.

How can the prestige of France and the values associated with it be promoted through sport, when the French capital has already distinguished itself brilliantly as a driving force in the fight against climate change during the COP 2021 climate agreements?

Every major sporting event is a witness to the passage of time, periodically revealing a snapshot of the state of the world in which we live together. This notion of cohabitation is particularly relevant today, given the urgent need for change. For Brenac-Gonzalez & Associés, our contribution to the dynamics of hosting this great universal celebration is an opportunity to showcase know-how made in France, as demonstrators of a new paradigm.

We put our expertise as builders in the field of housing and new construction techniques to work, through innovative typological research based on the notion of metropolitan domesticity, uses and quality of life, for both apartments and common areas.

In contrast to historical references, we have thought in terms of legacy, so that this new district will become a "long-term" place to live for families within the dynamics of Greater Paris, while offering hospitality to athletes beforehand. The cells were designed to allow rapid and cost-effective reversion to residential use.

Our intervention concerns 3 strategic buildings: plot 1 at the corner of quai de Seine and rue Agnès Varda, plot 5 along mail Finot and plot 8 along rue Agnès Varda.
The strategic importance of plot 1 , which in fact results from the linear assembly of two plots, offers a singular silhouette suggesting the prow of a moored ship which, with its wide white gangways, dominates the expanse of the riverside landscape. This exceptional view is also offered to passers-by and visitors by the presence of a vast belvedere terrace on the quayside.

Plots 5 and 8 maintain a courteous relationship within the Quincunx, which governs the grid of the block, by fitting in on either side of the central forest that crosses the entire length of the site. This garden, made up of species with elongated silhouettes and light foliage, allows residents to stroll or relax in the shade of the trees, sheltered from the hustle and bustle of the city.

We're proposing a sober, rigorous, unpretentious architecture that doesn't seek to be ostentatious or demonstrative, preferring by far the idea of a generous thought inscribed around a narrative, offering everyone different levels of reading according to their subjectivity and the point of view they occupy.

A narrative inspiration in dialogue with the adjoining Cité du Cinéma, based on a work of ornamentation that elegantly and subtly questions the design of certain architectural elements, such as curved railings, windows and blinds...

Alternating glazed and matte terracotta tiles create large-scale motifs across the façade. This patterning is also reminiscent of tartan weave, or the brick ornamentation found at the Meunier chocolate factory or on the Jules Ferry schools; its reading is revealed furtively and in fragments according to the time of day or the light.
Several technical approvals have been developed to meet our environmental requirements for mixed wood-concrete construction and the application of terracotta cladding on prefabricated wood-frame facades.

This project combines quality of life and quality of the city, and offers an architectural illustration of what 21st-century manifesto architecture can be, thought through in terms of use, based on people and the environment.

Technical data
© graphic design: Brenac & Gonzalez & Associés
© photo : Sergio Grazia, Stefan Tuchila

“Landmark on the trajectory” - Plot 5:
Sector D1
141 athlete beds / 26 heritage homes
Surface area: 1890m²
Cost: €5 M
Address: Mail Finot, Saint-Ouen
Certifications: NF habitat HQE, E3C2
Structure: wood post/beam + wood-frame facade
Facades: raw / colorless glazed terracotta tiles + rendering

TEAM

Architect
BRENAC & GONZALEZ & ASSOCIES - Associate architect Emmanuel Person
BRENAC & GONZALEZ & ASSOCIES - Associate architect Jean-Pierre Lévêque
BRENAC & GONZALEZ & ASSOCIES - Architect, project manager Franck Denize

Project owner ICADE

Architect coordinator for the Athletes' Village UAPS
Structure and facades EGIS
Fluids BERIM
HQE OASIIS
Worksite SPIE BATIGNOLLES
Complex infrastructures EDEIS
Landscape Landscape TN PLUS

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CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM FINISHES
Wood Ceramic
Concrete Wood
Prefabricated Recycled Material