La Bastide
Rehabilitation of 10 collective social housing towers. How to renew a large social housing complex of 25 ha towards concerted micro-interventions?
La Bastide is a district of Limoges, quite big as we number 1356 dwellings. It is labelled by lots of acronyms, such as ZUS, ANRU, PRU... Its shape closely resembles many others, made of towers and bars, built in the 50s and 60s. Its apartments are duplicated following the frame of plans named RANK-XEROX by the generation of architects of the 80s.
The streets are wide, leading to a standoff. in dead end. 2 to 3 species of trees covered hectares of an invariable land, without relief. The car is everywhere, fewer than elsewhere, and yet more visible.
In short, nothing typical, nothing unique, nothing local. Universal architecture and urbanism, hygienist, the humanist and modern ideology reproducible to envy.
Can we then talk about authenticity?
Since 2001, this word has been spread among specialist literature in the field of architecture. It became a trendy word, which the signification became to some extent loosey-goosey. It deserves an etymological precision. The term authentikos means "who acts on his own authority, whose origin is established and arises a sincere emotion".
What about La Bastide ? what could we say except that it is a 50 years aged district, burned with 5O years of memories for its inhabitants ? Could we talk about authenticity ?
Rather than a generalist and sparsely significant intervention, the project aims to improve the quality of services from the hypothesis of 5 sectioned targets. The situation of the five targets is defined in advance. The Project has be sober and elegant and its impact contained in a precise radius. Then, after an exhaustive urban and architectural diagnosis, made in common with multiple partners, the final 5 targets were selected.
