a+t architecture publishers

a+t research group selected 14 case studies of collective housing for the book Density is Home. This fifth post about the publication features the Coming Out housing project, by Edouard François, in Grenoble, France.

This development offers dwellings for sale or rental in three blocks which have been separated enabling light to flow into the interior of the blocks. Two of these are public developments and are covered with a waterproof membrane which protects the outer insulation layer. The other is a private development and the owners didn’t want to apply this type of building solution. The result is two ‘soft’ buildings and a ‘hard’ one which share the same concrete plinth on the ground floor. All dwellings, irrespective of their size, are double-facing so as to assure comfort during summer. Their distribution is very simple: they are organised around a double-facing strip of day areas to which are added one or two parallel strips of bedrooms and bathrooms. Dividing the dwelling into strips of different uses means the user can reconfigure the living areas at will.

The solar panels, the double glazing, the exterior insulation and the exterior circulation elements reduce the energy costs by 50%.

The access via galleries which are suspended amid vegetation brings us close to the utopia of the tree house. The gap separating each entrance enhances privacy.

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