NZI Architectes

Participatory Habitat in Montreuil

Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli

PARTICIPATORY HABITAT IN MONTREUIL

NZI Architectes

ARCHITECTS
NZI Architectes

LOCATION
Montreuil, France

CATEGORY
Housing, Residential

AREA
1950 m²

YEAR
2017

PHOTOGRAPHS
Juan Sepulveda Grazioli

MANUFACTURERS
GCPAT, Sikkens, ZOLTAN

STRUCTURE CONSULTANT
I+A

OPC CONSULTANT
Planni BTP

ECONOMY CONSULTANT
Moteec

LANDSCAPE CONSULTANT
Champ Libre

FLUIDS/MECHANICAL CONSULTANT
Wor

CLIENT
CPA CPS

CITY
Montreuil

COUNTRY
France

KEEPING PROMISES

Our role consisted in the development of the project following the meetings (Design Workshops) with the inhabitants which were held once every two weeks over 5 months. Increasing the pace was necessary to give concrete answers to the expectations. Often avant-garde, the inhabitants were not lacking in imagination.

Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli
Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© NZI Architectes

The pedagogical process was indeed necessary in order to correspond all the ambitions with the rules of the professional world, especially in the process of construction where the interlocutors are multiple.

Our main concern was not to disappoint the expectations: the adopted strategy aims at the most feasible proposal, leaving more ambitious options temporarily aside. We felt it was necessary to announce good surprises rather than failures, both in terms of domestic and external performance.

Once the building permit was obtained, the inhabitants drew their dwelling with us. Our role was on counseling, based on personal specifications and compositions of each household. We did not impose our vision, the objective being to make their home.

Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli
Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli
Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli

COLLECTIVES EXTERNAL SPACES

Open Circulations
Beyond the clearly defined areas for the inhabitants in the use of leisure, breathing, and comfort in the act of inhabiting, the common circulations represent a real subject of reflection in the practice of housing design. If open-air circulation covers the classic distribution role, the scale we have given them leaves room for more spontaneous occupations.

A posteriori the youngest inhabitants make a play area and the inhabitants can arrive in front of their accommodation with their own bike. The widths of the corridors are not strictly limited to the regulation but exceed 180 cm in order to offer common terraces in addition to the privative extensions of the houses acquired.

Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli
Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli

GARDEN ON THE GROUND FLOOR

The garden on the ground floor serves several functions: it is both a pedestrian distribution area, a convivial space and a rain garden for the surface management of rainwater.

Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli
Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli

The distances between the dwellings and the edge of the valley are made by means of massifs of shrubs and grasses. They will form a screen about 80cm high to ensure privacy in the accommodations.

Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli
Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli

The grassed spaces are all collective, but the appropriation of the space in front of the dwellings is expected. In this spirit, there is no adjoining fence between the houses overlooking the collective garden.

Two valleys run along the northern edge of the pathway, forming a tool for managing rainwater and also the point of the composition of the garden.

Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli
Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli

GARDEN ROOF

The operation includes two accessible roof gardens: the largest (270m2) is in the courtyard building, the second smaller (90m2) is located at the corner of the building on the street.

The functions of these roofs are not deliberately defined to allow a subsequent appropriation by the inhabitants. However, the roofs are equipped with a complex of a culture of 80cm of thickness whose composition is optimal for the vegetable production (soil modified in compost and sand).

Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
© Juan Sepulveda Grazioli


Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
Site Plan
Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
Ground Floor Plan
Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
First Floor Plan


Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
Longitudinal Section


Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
Garden Details
Participatory Habitat in Montreuil
Facade Details

NZI Architectes
T +33 9 50156430
NZI Architectes
26 Rue Miguel Hidalgo, 75019 Paris, France