sam Architecture and Querkraft completed the design for O6A Lot Clichy-Batignolles, an urban housing and preschool project located in Paris, France.

The urban regeneration zone of Clichy-Batignolles covers over 133 acres of land (54 hectares). Located in the 17th Parisian precinct, it is one of the most ambitious urban projects currently led by the city.

The site bears the historical signs of transportation and logistics activities, facilitated by the train lines leading to Saint-Lazare train station and the close beltway.

Therefore, the stakes of the project can be summarized by the single idea of designing a densely built environment for this neighborhood.

Hence creating the possibility to include this isolated railway site into a very much needed urban continuity.

The area is constructed around the Martin Luther King parc, crossing its whole length and leading to the symbolic Paris Courthouse, overlooking the northern part of the site.

In this urban operation, the 6A parcel plays an essential role, located between the urbanized road Mstislav Rostropovitch to the West and the parc to the East. The question of porosities and views created between the two spaces is vital to the project definition.

The final volumetric design is the direct result of the rational understanding of the programmatical and site’s constraints.

The main goal for the project is to obtain as much space and sun as possible for the outdoor playgrounds of the school and daycare centre.

The choice has hence been made to densify the housing areas and to exploit the legal possibilities of the site: grouping apartments into two buildings going up to 50meters high. These two towers are on the North to South diagonal of the site, allowing a maximum amount of sun for both playgrounds. At noon, the shadow from the tower will only cover the roof of the kindergarten.

Architects: sam Architecture and Querkraft
Photography: Schnepp Renou