Touching the Loire Nantes, Housing Bretagne, Offices Building in Brittany, Architecture

Touching the Loire, Brittany : Nantes Building

French Housing + Offices Building design by Atelier Arcau Architecte, France

post updated 20 Oct 2020 ; 24 Jul 2012

Touching the Loire, Nantes

Design: Atelier Arcau

Location: Nantes, Pays de la Loire region, Loire-Atlantique département, Bretagne, north west France

Touching the Loire – 85 Housing Units & Offices, Nantes

photo from architects firm

Following an international competition bringing together 60 team applications, “Touching the Loire” came third. The project mixes housing, activities and services, including the extension of the largest veterinary clinic in France. In the visual axis of the boulevard and the bridge, the architectural project emerges from the ground and soars into the sky, giving structure and elegance to the culmination of the housing block. A vertical break, associated with a public thoroughfare, constitutes a double gateway to the Loire and Ile de Nantes, clearly marking the entrance to the district.

photo from architects firm

The proposal puts the resident in the foreground, looking for the best aspects, thinking in relation to the wind, sky and the historical city. The apartments are designed to provide the best comfort for city dwellers. All have double or triple aspects and are extended by a conservatory; a “temperate” hybrid space that can be closed or opened according to the seasons.

photo from architects firm

Metaphor of the timber that was shipped along the river, the main volume is clad with poplar boards. The combination of polished concrete, black-tinted glazing, and a shiny wood stain, translates this reference to the complex monolith; a solution that slowly takes shape to embody an “inhabited urban linchpin” capable of continuing the transformation of the city and extending the outlook of Ile de Nantes towards the south bank of the Loire. Beyond the completion of 85 outstanding housing units, our proposal is expressed through dynamic and sculptural architecture, a sign facing the Willy Brandt Bridge, reflecting the complexity and richness of a “river” metropolis undergoing huge changes.

ATELIER ARCAU

photos from architects

Touching the Loire Nantes – Building Information

Location: Nantes, Loire-Atlantique département, Bretagne, France
Programme: Housing & Offices
Architects: Atelier Arcau

Photographs: Hervé Le Reste, photographe à Vannes

Touching the Loire Bretagne images / information from Atelier Arcau

Location: Nantes, France

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