#RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE PROJECTS
Prefab Parisian housing is clad in a double-skin timber facade to optimize solar shading
French architecture firm Tectône recently completed an energy-efficient Parisian housing development.
Created as part of an urban renewal project in Aubervilliers’ Auvry Barbusse district, the multi-family apartments are built with prefab timber frames covered with strips of pine for a double-skin facade that provides solar shading and protects residents’ privacy. The buildings are oriented to maximize natural daylight and rainwater is collected and recycled for on-site irrigation.
Tectône won the project bid in a 2011 design competition that specified wood as the primary structural material. The housing development was built on a former industrial site and includes 39 multi-family flats, 3 craft shops, and a car park. Gardens flank the three structures at street level and are also located on two accessible rooftops.
Although the buildings are mostly clad in wood, the structural bases are made from white concrete to improve thermal insulation. The prefab wooden facades are sheathed in untreated pine slats, which will gradually develop a silvery patina over time. Sliding wooden shutters are built inside the gap of the timber layers. “The design takes inspiration from suburban houses,” write the architects. “Thus, there are three buildings and two walkways allowing crossings from street to gardens and offering a great conviviality.”
