In 2012, Benoît d’Halluin and Emmanuel Basse, as the Esprimm group, launched a competition for the construction of a housing project on the boulevard Richard Lenoir in Paris to replace the two decrepit townhouses that were located on the site. The triangular site is surrounded by Haussmanian buildings, demanding a creative solution from the project. It was thanks to a clean, legible, atmospheric and dynamic approach that Studio Vincent Eschalier was awarded the competition.
The approach of the studio was to design a project that would create two spacious residences in the heart of urban Paris, a true luxury nowadays.
The challenge of this project was to design two side by side houses, within a triangular plot, without allowing them to overlap or have one supersede the other. All of while also keeping a fresh architectural expression, in contrast to the classical context of a major street in Eastern Paris.
The parcel allocated for the project has an area of only 113m², and very strict height limits and setbacks. Despite this, Studio Vincent Eschalier manages to create a sensation of open space and provides the inhabitants a view into the heart of the city, thanks to large windows of varying sizes. These windows also serve to create a unique rhythm in the façade, which is accentuated further by placing them at angles to create a tectonic reading to the street face and the spaces within.
Vincent Eschalier reveals the underlying ambition of his design; to create a luxurious, creative and authentic experience. By finding ways to turn urban constraints into architectural strengths, and through sculpting elegant materials into a contemporary fragment within a classical neighborhood, Vincent Eschalier succeeds in turning this project into an architectural asset.
