Like other new buildings in the floodplain area - Bassins à flot (Archi.ru wrote about this renovation project here and here) - in Bordeaux harbor, Urban Dock has the silhouette and finishes of a dock. When shaping volumes, choosing materials and colors, the authors of the project tried to reflect the marine theme and the feeling of life in the port, guided by the instructions of the ANMA bureau, which developed a plan for the regeneration of the territory.
The building with a total area of over 4,000 m2 and a cost of 4.3 million euros includes 56 apartments in two sections. The house is made in monolithic reinforced concrete and "hangs" above the parking lot located at ground level. Each living cell received a loggia, balcony or terrace. A complex silhouette (the height varies in the range of 5 - 9 - 3 residential floors) with pitched roofs creates a visual connection between the external and internal space, sets the play of scales, and provides exclusive view characteristics. Moreover, the architects themselves associate the tower with a periscope raised above the horizon of the cityscape: another nautical metaphor and as if a hint of a submarine base located two steps away
BETASOM. Urban Dock's absence of pronounced articulations enhances the effect of industrial architecture.
From the outside, the building has a golden color that makes it stand out in the surrounding area (Hamonic + Masson & Associés used
such a reception in Paris). The facades are faced with profiled steel sheets with a polymer coating. The solidity of the volume is emphasized with the help of an elegant solution: the loggias are partially hidden behind the sheets of the same texture, but perforated. Their bright white square openings are deliberately offset and hide the residential floor plan. The use of perforation also provides a double skin effect, giving a play of light and shadow. It is noteworthy that the project proposed powered shutters for windows, which would give the appearance of the house even more utility.
The bright volume hides behind itself a hanging garden at the level of the first residential floor, to which the white “courtyard” walls of the house are facing. The contrast is heightened by the contrast between the outer shimmering shell and the simple construction of open balconies that open onto the garden. Landscaping covers the entire site, including a walkway along its east side and a roof terrace.
