Paris-based LAN architects were involved in four residential complexes (709 apartments in total) in the Genicard district: the three Saint-Hilaire towers in the center surround the mid-rise buildings of Leroy, La Boecy and Villon. The reconstruction budget was 16.8 million euros.
There are about 10,500 people living in Zhenikar, which is about half of the population of Lormont. There are mainly cooperative and social houses. The entire area is now being renovated according to the "résidentialisation" scheme: the scenario invented in the 1990s, first of all, involves the creation of private and semi-private spaces and giving individual buildings - and apartments - "individuality." This is a response to two main areas of criticism of mass post-war housing: the problem of the uniformity of the appearance of houses and the lack of private, private space - despite the fact that public zones in such areas are also perceived by the townspeople not as their territory, but as land belonging to no one.
However, in the course of "residency" de facto, the common area is often divided into separate plots, and the overall impression of the residential area rarely benefits from this. Therefore, the LAN workshop decided to create a truly common urban park from the "ownerless" space of the residential area, having completed the main task of reconstruction - the renovation of houses.
The new facades not only gave each of the four complexes their own look, but also made it possible to improve the thermal and acoustic insulation and complement the apartments with new or enlarged loggias, balconies and even rooms. Thus, at the towers of Saint-Hilaire, the area of the loggias was increased (their depth increased from 93 to 160 cm), which are now closed from the outside by movable polycarbonate screens. In addition to the "protective" function, they look spectacular under the southern sun and under electric lighting at dusk, and also made it possible to diversify the appearance of the facades (the "relief" of open and closed loggias is constantly changing).
To create a "city park", the parking zones were shifted to the boundaries of the site in order to reduce the number of cars inside the block to a minimum, and in some areas to remove them altogether. The landscape scheme itself combines greenery with concrete and wood "accents": from paths, terraces and retaining walls to playgrounds.
The Esplanade Sainte-Hilaire in the center of the massif received a Quartier général structure of metal perforated panels on a timber frame. Its two lower tiers are occupied by a play area (outside it is complemented by slides, swings and other objects common for playgrounds), and the upper one serves as a public terrace. This structure, attracting all residents of the massif, should become the center of its social life.
