The master plan apprehends the plot of land as an articulation of emerging volumes and sequences of landscaped spaces. Echoing the Daste housing estate: comb-shaped buildings and large plots, the volumes to be built are defined throughout the sector, following a clear duality: a barrette with an R+2 floor and a plot with an R+9 floor will make up the EM7c1 block.

The ambitions of the project

The characteristic of the block remains in our eyes its openness, its porosity with the urban space, its capacity to be crossed. The success of this project lies in the way it takes advantage of and amplifies this exceptional condition. The project for the EM7c1 block is in line with the proposal developed by the urban project management and reinforces it. The porosity with the urban space is amplified by the creation of a gap between the bar and the block. The base, freed from all technical constraints, offers a transparency that enhances the transversality of the site.

Living here

The project is composed of two buildings, set in line with the plot, which define a configuration that is both open and compact. The variations in the building sizes - between 3 and 9 storeys - are in keeping with the nature of the existing fabric in the immediate environment. While the low-rise units are oriented towards the garden, the project takes advantage of the remarkable views of the distant landscape from the fourth floor upwards.

The EM7c1 project is in line with the objectives of the Empalot ZAC, which aims to create an attractive and diversified housing offer in terms of size, type and target public. Variety is in itself a lever for social and generational diversity. Regardless of the type of housing, the objective is to guarantee maximum quality, not only of the living spaces but also of the living environment. This attention is reflected in the careful treatment of common spaces, such as landings, entrance halls and terraces, which are designed as sufficiently generous spaces.

Outdoor spaces

The interior-exterior porosity is important: All homes have a loggia or a garden. In addition, the planted terrace and the landscaped heart of the block offer over 1,000m² of shared outdoor space.

Language

The Empalot Zac is very eclectic. Each time a new language is used in this living Abacus of architecture, a new line is written.

The first step in choosing the vocabulary of the project is to look for a link in this enormous ensemble that has already been able to cross history, a figure that can be found in the architecture of the historic centre as well as in that of this new district, as well as in the operations of the 1960s. It is a process of searching for a lowest common denominator: the shape of a window, the rhythm of a composition, the relationship between the void and the full, the grid.

The result of this study led us to the design of a geometry capable of erasing typology and scale. The materials used for the envelope are the result of an aesthetic research which is accompanied by a concern for durability over time: wooden bay windows and brick cladding guarantee ease of maintenance and replacement of the elements. The immediate proximity to the centre of Toulouse makes it even more important to use brick as a local and ecological material (low carbon footprint). The simplicity of the plan and design of the façade is contrasted here with a rich and meticulous work on the texture. The idea is to use the pattern to increase the legibility of the project at different scales.

Client : GREENCITY IMMOBILIER / Budget : 8.5 M.€ HT / Surface : 4 081 m² / Schedule : 2025 / Team : Julie Poirel (Landscape designer), SOCONER (Thermal and fluid design), VIZEA (Environmental design & labelling), G2 Ingenierie (VRD/Green spaces).