Details
Type
Affordable housing (32 apartments), offices
Location
Bordeaux, France
Client
Entrepôt Macdonald, built in 1970 in the north of Paris, holds the distinction of being the city’s longest building, running 616 meters along Boulevard Macdonald. In 2007, OMA was tasked with developing a masterplan to repurpose the structure, turning its commercial base into a mixed-use development with housing and office spaces above. In 2008, ten architects were selected to design individual projects within the masterplan. Habiter Autrement was assigned a 30 x 30 x 24-meter volume near the main entrance to create 42 apartments.
For residential units, the masterplan prescribed a large number of single-sided apartments around a central core. Searching for a creative way to improve on this standard social-housing formula, Habiter Autrement instead proposed stacking double-height lofts around a U-shaped courtyard, allowing for dual-aspect spaces. The large volume and ample natural light of the resulting apartments is quite different from the small rooms and narrow corridors that characterize many social housing projects, and interior circulation areas are kept to a minimum to maximize the living space. Along the south facade, the floors are shifted laterally, in order to open loggias and terraces and to create generous, protected outdoor spaces. The facade is constructed of sliding aluminium panels, some of which are micro-perforated, allowing natural light to filter into the apartments even when the panels are closed.
This combination of functional adaptability and openness illustrates how typology can be adapted to enhance both interior and exterior living quality within the framework of Entrepôt Macdonald's industrial heritage.
Type: Direct commission
Location: Entrepôt MacDonald, Boulevard MacDonald, Paris, France
Brief: Housing (42 apartments)
Client: ParisNordEstArea: 3,513 m²
Phase / Status: Completed
Architects: Mia Hägg, Sandrine Forais
Team:
Project managers: Félix Medina, Julie Heyde (concept design)
Team members: Adrien Durrmeyer, Nicolas Métro, Lina Lagerström, Laure Frachet, Gustav Hultman, Christian Bernhardt
Consultants:
Structure / MEP: Arcoba
Facades: DVVD
Sustainability (HQE): Alto
Acoustics: Acouphen
Technical inspection: Socotec
Masterplan / Urban design: OMA, Rotterdam, Holland
Coordination: XDGA, Floris Alkemade