Contemporary look for La Marinière residence

Social housing renovation

Project architect Eva Molina from AIP Architects talks about the project: "Our ambition when renovating social housing projects, in addition to thermal renovation, is to change the perception through a qualitative approach. The La Marinière residence still functioned well, but was aging and in need of a makeover. That was also the desire of the city of Bretigny-sur-Orge, which is very involved in its renovation programs."

For the transformation, it was important that the initial characteristics of the building were taken into account: "The frame, a column and beam structure with visible frames, was originally dressed with diamond-tipped concrete panels." For the thermal insulation, it was important to find a system that could be fixed to these panels. Eva Molina: “As the system should not be too heavy, we turned to a ventilated facade construction. In addition, the materials had to fit the budget and above all, integrate non-combustible materials.”

Aesthetic choices

The architect paid specific attention to the choice of colour. "We chose light gray facade boards installed at storey height, and anthracite boards installed in a 30 cm horizontal slat. Both are 8 mm thick, to achieve perfect flatness."

This choice also allowed her to rework the composition of the facades. The majority of the facade surface became flatter by adding external insulation and Rockpanel boards, but not all of it: “We infused a slightly different rhythm into the facade. The original pattern, however, remained visible on the balconies, with visible splits. It was about keeping those very rhythmic hollows visible and concealing the rest of the facade behind the cladding. We could make a reference to the old looks of the building by grouping lines and supports, in order to underline this weft effect.”

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