Rue de Charonne Dwellings
Paris, France, 2006
Twenty housing units make up this complex, which is situated at the intersection of three streets:
Rue de Charonne, Rue Léon-Frot, and Rue Émile-Lepeu. The dwellings are divided among six distinct buildings (two of which have been renovated) with storefronts.
The composite aspect of the site, in terms of both scale and surrounding architecture, was conceived as a function of the specific architectural profile of this residential neighbourhood in the heart of Paris’ 11th arrondissement.
The project uses a certain number of existing lines to coordinate the different types of buildings, ranging from the two-storey individual home to the six-storey apartment house. This voluntarily discontinuous complex combines new buildings with renovated structures (one from the 18th century and another from the late 19th century).
The twenty dwellings correspond to about fifteen different types of housing. The houses are sited either beside a system of footpaths or alongside the courtyard and garden in the middle of the tract.
It also contains three artists’ workshops in the block core, each of which, with its own apartment, backs onto a gable. These workshops themselves extend up to the first floor to allow for better natural interior lighting.