FMAU _ Porcelaine

Repeating without boredom.

What distinguishes the repetitiveness of a Haussmannian facade from that of a post-war housing block? This is the question posed by the 12-unit housing project, which brings together these two opposing figures of urbanism: the building integrated into the city block, closely connected to the street, and the modern insular building.

The project combines the insular logic of the modern object inherent in post-war urbanism and the logic of block alignment on the street inherent in traditional city planning. This balancing act continues inside, with the reinterpretation of the brightness brought by large windows of modern architecture and the rational ordering of downtown buildings. An homage is paid to the sublime staircases of Renaissance-era private mansions in the city center, through two staircases with differentiated geometries.

The proximity of a busy boulevard to the north quickly influenced the organization of the building. The project proposes to stretch and refine the building, which is only 5.60 meters thick, so that the rooms and living spaces can benefit from the light and tranquility of the park to the south.

A single window model, measuring 120×160 cm, repeated 72 times, and a lime plaster, without joints, in a troweled finish, envelop the contours of the building. The window tint, that of the plaster, and the interior paint are the same, an off-white ivory that accepts the dirt from the adjacent boulevard’s pollution and the marks of daily life indoors. The building’s quadruple orientation is enough to nuance the unity of tones, with the reflection of the joineries and the matte finish of the plaster.

Inside, this acknowledged repetitiveness provides traversing rooms, with up to 6 windows per living space. The building duplicates vertical circulations, eliminates horizontal circulations, with each shared staircase serving only 2 units per floor. At the heart of the building, a large garden planted with chestnut and oak trees extends the choice of a structure designed to last, protecting the residences from any unwanted views.

On the ground floor, a Limoges porcelain ribbon, specially designed for this project, measuring 16×20 cm, echoes the proportion of the windows and protects the building from acts of incivility.

Programme Construction of 12 social housing units
Location Limoges 87000, France
Client Noalis
Team FMAU, Defretin (structural engineering) , Cité4 (fluid engineering), 17 Eco-Partenaire (economy), Co-Pilot (Owner’s Project Coordinator)
Size 1 200 m²
Cost 1 434 145 € excl. Taxes (including the porcelaine facade)
Mission Complete project management
Credits video Hugo Lalisse - Les studios de l'éphémère

Award Grand Prix d’A 2020 (nominated)
Publication «d’A», sept. 2020