Barrault Pressacco

As part of the Athletes' Village for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the plot E5 accommodates a mixed-use programme comprising housing for first-time buyers, a childcare centre, shops and a community garden. Located at the junction with the existing residential areas of the town of Saint-Ouen, the project's measured volumetry creates a gentle urban transition towards the surrounding area. The placement of four distinct building volumes at the corners of the plot creates wide visual openings towards the heart of the block. The buildings are related through common rules that define an architectural style that is both coherent and varied. The concrete ground floors bear a post-and-beam timber frame that is visible in all the dwellings. The envelopes, made up of timber-framed walls, are coated with lime render to unify the whole, and are insulated with bio-sourced insulation. The crèche is made of load-bearing stone, giving it structural and formal autonomy at the heart of the project. The coexistence of wood, stone and lime refers to the permanence of condstructive techniques that have been updated by new methods of assembly. A principle of reversibility governs the spaces, uses and structure of the buildings, which after accommodating the sports delegations will be transformed into family housing during the ‘Heritage’ phase.