Jean Anouilh Residence

Bordeaux, France

Project content

Project description

Extension and renovation of 18 apartments in the Jean Anouilh residence
1st Prize at the Aquitaine Regional Architecture Awards (PRAd’A) 2017 – Category M

The project site is located in the heart of Bordeaux’s historic center, on Cours Aristide Briand, within the UNESCO World Heritage area, at the edge of the protected sector. The land owned by CROUS is a passageway between Cours Aristide Briand and Rue Sauteyron, where a previous student residence has already been built. On the Aristide Briand side, the project site consists of two stone buildings to be renovated and an infill space to be constructed, creating a complex of around 20 student apartments that will function alongside the 85 others built on Rue Sauteyron. This raises the key challenge: How to intervene today within the stone building sequence along Cours Aristide Briand?

From an urban perspective, this intervention completes the restructuring of the “Victory student block” by creating a shared entrance for both residences on Cours Aristide Briand.
This entrance naturally fits within the infill space. The rehabilitation/extension project was conceived in the context of the urban building design of Cours Aristide Briand. The new building in the infill space adopts a contemporary architectural style that harmonizes with the surrounding fabric, signaling the new main entrance to the block with a large carriage gate. Entering through the carriage gate, one passes through an exterior archway that leads into the tree-lined courtyard of the student block.

Between the two renovated buildings, the new structure takes the form of a contemporary insertion, conceived as an independent entity. The new building asserts its own architectural style while integrating coherently into the urban fabric of Cours Aristide Briand. Its façade is a double skin, with a first layer consisting of a glass wall into which a brass metal mesh is inserted, and a second layer made of tinted concrete that recalls, through the rhythm of its openings, the facades of traditional Bordeaux buildings. The façade is precise, with the placement of the glass fasteners, covered with a brass sheet, carefully arranged to create horizontal lines that engage in dialogue with the cornices of the neighboring buildings.

The interior design of the apartments stems from the desire to combine all the functions of student life within the same room, making the space adaptable and flexible, transitioning from a study area to a sleeping space or a reception area. The student housing was designed as a refuge and a study area, but also as a space for sociability and meeting, aligning with the vibrant student life filled with projects, parties, group work, and social gatherings.
On the garden side, each apartment opens onto a small garden at ground level or a balcony on the upper floors. The garden at the heart of the block is a communal space shared by both residences. The pedestrian pathways are paved, and the lawns and shade of the trees invite students to enjoy a green space in the heart of Bordeaux.

Project informations

Client

CROUS of Bordeaux

Program

Extension and renovation of 18 apartments

Surface

693 m²

Cost of Work

1,100,000 € ex-tax

Status

Delivered in 2014
1st Prize at the Aquitaine Regional Architecture Awards (PRAd’A) 2017 – Category M

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