A Town Bastide
The construction of the future headquarters of Estérel Côte d’Azur Agglomération calls for careful consideration of several essential parameters, notably the image conveyed by the institution and the landmark role that public buildings are expected to play within the city. The original urban fabric is fragmented and diverse, set within a remarkable landscape at the foothills of the Esterel mountains.
Within a true landscaped urban park, our proposal introduces a compact and cohesive building organized around a generous central patio. A restrained urban marker inspired by the Roman domus — a shared bastide that combines the clear civic presence of an institution with the more domestic character of a Roman villa. The building asserts its identity without ostentation.
The project brings together classical architecture — particularly expressed through the highly mineral façades and tiled roofs — with a more contemporary approach suited to a modern tertiary office building and evolving ways of working.
The architectural language of the project is deeply rooted in its immediate surroundings. To the south, the façade curves in response to the neighboring sports arena, borrowing from it the motif of the peristyle. Its unifying roofscape refers to the nearby residential fabric of detached houses. The material palette is anchored in its context: pigmented concrete and natural earth renders echo the tones of the Esterel massif. Across the landscaped park, the topography is carefully shaped to channel rainwater runoff from swale to swale toward the stormwater basin located to the south, enabling the site to absorb episodes of torrential rainfall.
Bioclimatic by nature, the project combines maximum functionality with a simple and pragmatic approach to climatic comfort in service of its users. This shared bastide is conceived as a collective house, where workspaces are designed as collaborative environments that blur the boundaries between inside and outside, encouraging natural ventilation and thermal inertia through clearly identifiable places. Outdoor terraces are shaded, while the patio organization shelters the building from prevailing winds and simultaneously promotes effective natural ventilation.
Working together here means inhabiting the same house, sharing a common space dedicated to public service.

CLIENT/ Esterel Cote D’Azur
TEAM / EPDC/Merci Raymond
13.988.000€
5314m² SDP
ENVIRONNEMENTAL APPROACH
• Référentiel Grand Lyon Habitat Durable 2022
• Icconstruction ≤ IcconstructionmaxRE2025
• Icénergie ≤ Icénergiemax RE2025
• Cep,nr < Cep,nr max RE2025

Images IDAPLUS