Lironde Gardens Montpellier housing, south of France building development architect, architecture

Lironde Gardens, Montpellier, France : French Housing

French Housing Development design by Christian de Portzamparc Architect

post updated 21 February 2026

Location: south France
Date built: 1991-2009
Design: Atelier d’architecture Christian de Portzamparc

Development of the Lironde Gardens and construction of two Montpellier blocks.

27 Mar 2008

Lironde Gardens Montpellier

Alphonse Allais once quipped, summing up the impossible, “You know where we went wrong with our towns? We should have put them in the countryside!”

The hybridization of nature and urbanity is one of the key issues facing us today. How do you create a quality living environment on the outskirts of a town that you don’t find in the center? Rather than dividing the whole area into plots, this development retains the existing vines, farms and olive trees and creates four-to-five story built “islands” on car park bases, freeing up the ground for gardens shared by the owners, public gardens, or gardens belonging to each “island”.

The development is a form of open block. The residences facing in two directions all have close-up views of the courtyard terrace, and wide, light-filled views of the landscape as a whole. Most of the “islands” are the work of two or three property developers and architects from the region.

Atelier d’architecture Christian de Portzamparc

Lironde Gardens Montpellier images / information from Atelier d’architecture Christian de Portzamparc

Location: Montpellier, south of France, western Europe.