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START-Ivry
START-Ivry
Ivry-sur-Seine, France
Special Mention, 2025 A+Awards, Residential - Affordable Housing
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Other Projects by STAR strategies + architecture
START-Ivry
Ivry-sur-Seine, France
Special Mention, 2025 A+Awards, Residential - Affordable Housing
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2024
SIZE
100,000 sqft - 300,000 sqft
BUDGET
$10M - 50M
START, Ivry-sur-Seine, Greater Paris
A new generation of social and affordable private housing in France; when housing adapts to its inhabitants and not the other way around.
At the confluence of the rivers Seine and Marne START redefines Ivry’s skyline while addressing a dual housing challenge: reinventing the residential tower—an often-criticised typology in France—and creating exceptional, innovative apartments. START offers a vital alternative to the paradox of standardised housing in an era of unprecedented household diversity.
Households and Housing have followed diverging logics, creating a disconnect between spaces and the people who inhabit them.
-Households have become increasingly diverse—single parents, blended families, flat-sharing, unemployed young people, seniors requiring care, cohabitations, remote workers, young adults temporarily returning to live at home...
-Housing, meanwhile, has followed a different path—shaped by tight regulations and developer priorities. The result is a park of standardised apartments: rigid “containers” defined by rules and budgets rather than real-life needs.
Today's society—with all its contradictions and diversity—cannot be reflected in the homogeneity of a standardised floorplan. This conviction inspired START: a project that places inhabitants and their lifestyles at the centre, creating housing that adapts to life’s changes, especially for the most vulnerable. The apartment thus ceases to be a burden, and becomes a support for their personal growth. It is the apartment that adapts to its inhabitants and not the other way around. Whether accommodating family growth, divorce, ageing parents, new work patterns, multigenerational living, temporarily hosting an unemployed adult child, or optimising space after children leave home, these principles aim to create truly adaptable, “lifetime homes” that support residents through diverse life transitions.
The project proposes a wide range of typologies and solutions, from studios to four-bedroom units, including multiple intermediate types. Three series of principles were set up in order to orchestrate the project: “10 Typological Principles” to ensure adaptability, flexibility, and resilience in the apartments, “8 Space Quality Principles”, and “10 Principles to create a Good Tower”, for a positive declination of density.
Beyond individual adaptability, START creates a sense of community through shared spaces. A dedicated ‘band’ of communal areas and terraces, located on the 7th floor of all buildings, enhances social interactions. These turquoise carved-out spaces articulate the towers' scale and introduce a horizontal rhythm to the volumes.
The volumes are meticulously designed to maximize natural light, optimize views, and allow for diverse apartment configurations. Each tower is visually divided into three segments, creating a layered perception of height: the Street, the City, and the Sky.
The façades follow a “narrative” logic, reflecting the interior functions while responding to their urban context. Window jambs are color-coded based on their internal use, loggia colours distinguish the three different sections of the tower, and the exposed and reddish-painted concrete draws inspiration from Ivry’s metropolitan surroundings, and in particularly its pioneering brutalist architecture.
START is composed of 5 buildings ranging from 12 to 18 floors, developed according to our set of Housing Principles. It hosts 288 apartments (up to 350 after future division) and 14 commercial spaces. The total surface area is 22,863 m², of which 19,700 m² is residential, including 34% social housing. It hosts 2.119 m² of common terraces at different heights and 2,600 m² of public space on the ground floor. The construction budget is € 43.3 Mill. ($ 48.11 Mill.).
START is the built manifesto of our research into affordable and adaptable housing. It challenges outdated dogmas and confronts the standardisation trend, proposing instead a resilient and inclusive model for the future.
----------------------------------------
START-Ivry Prizes
In recent months, START has received several national and international awards, recognising both its architectural quality and its strong social and conceptual foundations. Among these, one stands out as particularly meaningful for us: the French National ARVHA Prize for Women Architects.
In November 2024, Beatriz Ramo, director of STAR strategies + architecture, was awarded the ARVHA Prize in the category Œuvre Originale for START-Ivry.
This prize holds a double significance: it celebrates not only the architectural and social innovation of the project, but also offers meaningful recognition of the work of women architects—a contribution that too often remains underrepresented.
The award honours the nine years of research that preceded the construction of START, and its transformation into a bold, experimental and inclusive residential complex.
“What I find truly interesting about this project is that, even before it became a project, it was already a strategy.
A genuinely sustainable project today can only be achieved through well-defined strategies implemented both before and during its development.
We had the opportunity to deeply engage with the extensive research conducted by Beatriz and her office over the nine years between the project's inception and its completion. And that is fascinating.”
— Ludovica di Falco, Winner ARVHA Prize 2023
Award Ceremony, November 2024
-Finalist in the AZ Awards 2025 in the « Urban Design - Built developments » category - ongoing
Organiser: AZ Awards by AZURE magazine
Selected: 2
April 2025
https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/announcing-the-finalists-of-the-az-awards-2025/?utm_source=AZA_Site&utm_medium=Website&utm_campaign=2025_Finalist+PC&utm_content=AZA_Homepage
-WINNER of the Prize Femmes d’Architecture in the category « Œuvre original »
Organiser: ARVHA, Association for Research about City and Housing
November 2024
https://www.femmes-archi.org/prix-2024/laureates-2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kmKuK9RHTQ&t=2s
-WINNER of the Prize Défis Urbains in the category « Modes d’habiter »
Organiser: Innovapresse
November 2024
https://www.defisurbains.fr/edition-2024/laureats-2024.html
-WINNER of the Prize Classement des Promoteurs in the category « Réversibilité / modularité »
Organiser: Innovapresse
June 2024
https://www.classementdespromoteurs.com/laureats-2024.html?utm_source=newsletter_620&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=decouvrez-les-projets-laureats
-RUNNER-UP / 3rd Place at the GADA Award 2024 in the category « Housing (over 5 floors) - Built »
Organiser: RTF – Re-Thinking the Future
November 2024
https://awards.re-thinkingthefuture.com/start-ivry-by-star-strategies-architecture/
A new generation of social and affordable private housing in France; when housing adapts to its inhabitants and not the other way around.
At the confluence of the rivers Seine and Marne START redefines Ivry’s skyline while addressing a dual housing challenge: reinventing the residential tower—an often-criticised typology in France—and creating exceptional, innovative apartments. START offers a vital alternative to the paradox of standardised housing in an era of unprecedented household diversity.
Households and Housing have followed diverging logics, creating a disconnect between spaces and the people who inhabit them.
-Households have become increasingly diverse—single parents, blended families, flat-sharing, unemployed young people, seniors requiring care, cohabitations, remote workers, young adults temporarily returning to live at home...
-Housing, meanwhile, has followed a different path—shaped by tight regulations and developer priorities. The result is a park of standardised apartments: rigid “containers” defined by rules and budgets rather than real-life needs.
Today's society—with all its contradictions and diversity—cannot be reflected in the homogeneity of a standardised floorplan. This conviction inspired START: a project that places inhabitants and their lifestyles at the centre, creating housing that adapts to life’s changes, especially for the most vulnerable. The apartment thus ceases to be a burden, and becomes a support for their personal growth. It is the apartment that adapts to its inhabitants and not the other way around. Whether accommodating family growth, divorce, ageing parents, new work patterns, multigenerational living, temporarily hosting an unemployed adult child, or optimising space after children leave home, these principles aim to create truly adaptable, “lifetime homes” that support residents through diverse life transitions.
The project proposes a wide range of typologies and solutions, from studios to four-bedroom units, including multiple intermediate types. Three series of principles were set up in order to orchestrate the project: “10 Typological Principles” to ensure adaptability, flexibility, and resilience in the apartments, “8 Space Quality Principles”, and “10 Principles to create a Good Tower”, for a positive declination of density.
Beyond individual adaptability, START creates a sense of community through shared spaces. A dedicated ‘band’ of communal areas and terraces, located on the 7th floor of all buildings, enhances social interactions. These turquoise carved-out spaces articulate the towers' scale and introduce a horizontal rhythm to the volumes.
The volumes are meticulously designed to maximize natural light, optimize views, and allow for diverse apartment configurations. Each tower is visually divided into three segments, creating a layered perception of height: the Street, the City, and the Sky.
The façades follow a “narrative” logic, reflecting the interior functions while responding to their urban context. Window jambs are color-coded based on their internal use, loggia colours distinguish the three different sections of the tower, and the exposed and reddish-painted concrete draws inspiration from Ivry’s metropolitan surroundings, and in particularly its pioneering brutalist architecture.
START is composed of 5 buildings ranging from 12 to 18 floors, developed according to our set of Housing Principles. It hosts 288 apartments (up to 350 after future division) and 14 commercial spaces. The total surface area is 22,863 m², of which 19,700 m² is residential, including 34% social housing. It hosts 2.119 m² of common terraces at different heights and 2,600 m² of public space on the ground floor. The construction budget is € 43.3 Mill. ($ 48.11 Mill.).
START is the built manifesto of our research into affordable and adaptable housing. It challenges outdated dogmas and confronts the standardisation trend, proposing instead a resilient and inclusive model for the future.
----------------------------------------
START-Ivry Prizes
In recent months, START has received several national and international awards, recognising both its architectural quality and its strong social and conceptual foundations. Among these, one stands out as particularly meaningful for us: the French National ARVHA Prize for Women Architects.
In November 2024, Beatriz Ramo, director of STAR strategies + architecture, was awarded the ARVHA Prize in the category Œuvre Originale for START-Ivry.
This prize holds a double significance: it celebrates not only the architectural and social innovation of the project, but also offers meaningful recognition of the work of women architects—a contribution that too often remains underrepresented.
The award honours the nine years of research that preceded the construction of START, and its transformation into a bold, experimental and inclusive residential complex.
“What I find truly interesting about this project is that, even before it became a project, it was already a strategy.
A genuinely sustainable project today can only be achieved through well-defined strategies implemented both before and during its development.
We had the opportunity to deeply engage with the extensive research conducted by Beatriz and her office over the nine years between the project's inception and its completion. And that is fascinating.”
— Ludovica di Falco, Winner ARVHA Prize 2023
Award Ceremony, November 2024
-Finalist in the AZ Awards 2025 in the « Urban Design - Built developments » category - ongoing
Organiser: AZ Awards by AZURE magazine
Selected: 2
April 2025
https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/announcing-the-finalists-of-the-az-awards-2025/?utm_source=AZA_Site&utm_medium=Website&utm_campaign=2025_Finalist+PC&utm_content=AZA_Homepage
-WINNER of the Prize Femmes d’Architecture in the category « Œuvre original »
Organiser: ARVHA, Association for Research about City and Housing
November 2024
https://www.femmes-archi.org/prix-2024/laureates-2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kmKuK9RHTQ&t=2s
-WINNER of the Prize Défis Urbains in the category « Modes d’habiter »
Organiser: Innovapresse
November 2024
https://www.defisurbains.fr/edition-2024/laureats-2024.html
-WINNER of the Prize Classement des Promoteurs in the category « Réversibilité / modularité »
Organiser: Innovapresse
June 2024
https://www.classementdespromoteurs.com/laureats-2024.html?utm_source=newsletter_620&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=decouvrez-les-projets-laureats
-RUNNER-UP / 3rd Place at the GADA Award 2024 in the category « Housing (over 5 floors) - Built »
Organiser: RTF – Re-Thinking the Future
November 2024
https://awards.re-thinkingthefuture.com/start-ivry-by-star-strategies-architecture/
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