The former Busso industrial wasteland in the heart of the Pré Saint-Gervais is preparing to host a housing development in an already dense and green-deficient neighbourhood. We decided to free up 67% of the site’s surface area to install an urban forest (more than 2/3 of the site!). This space will be public, free and open to all. It is a 3300m2 piece of nature in the open air which will have a beneficial effect on the district in environmental terms (island of freshness, biodiversity…) and in terms of social links (designed in co-design, it offers a diversity of uses around the “doing together”). Here, you can experience nature in the city because the entire site becomes a garden.

Four buildings are connected by loopholes that accommodate common circulation. Like a vertical village, these landings serve 3 dwellings per level and end on the roof. They encourage mobility within the building itself and become real places for sharing and exchange on a daily basis. Offering a view of the neighbourhood and the forest, these shared spaces play an important thermal role and allow air cooled by vegetation to circulate; the natural management of future heat episodes is thus integrated into the design.

Here, there is no balcony on the facade, but roof gardens. Like allotments, each dwelling has its own plot of land, full sky. No opposite or slab terrace, but a real plot of land with soil to cultivate, experiment and share a moment of relaxation.

In resonance with the forest, the mineral character of the buildings in coloured concrete reminds us of exposed geological strata. The nobility of the wooden frames offers a domestic aspect visible on the facade and appreciable for the generously glazed dwellings.