Au Loin - 43 Housing Units
The residence Au Loin is part of a new devlopment zone on the outskirts of Toulouse. It is intended to be representative of innovation in construction and the housing of tomorrow. However, it doesn’t invent anything. It also does not revolutionize the way of living.
The primary concern of the residence Au Loin is to offer a new landscape for each of its homes. To achieve this, it is shaped by simple siting principles and architectural choices that have stood the test of time.
Reflecting the values of the GGR agency, the Au Loin project aims to be economical, sustainable, timeless, and human-centered. Because a city cannot be built solely on achievements.
The project aims to take advantage of the landscape qualities of a complex urban context: a narrow corner plot, located on the edge of the main axis of a developing neighborhood and bordering a wooded area and a ‘wild’ stream.
To achieve this, two buildings are constructed along the street to protect the common garden from road nuisances. A large building rises to the maximum permitted height to free up the ground and allow the inner courtyard to breathe. A smaller building is lowered to engage in dialogue with the neighboring residential fabric. The space between the two buildings forms the entrance to the residence. The void of the central garden connects with the void of the retention basin of the development zone, giving residents the impression that their common garden is immense.
The city is not made up of identical buildings. The two buildings in the project are also distinct in order to harmonize the meeting of the development zone with the older fabric of the city. The lower building is lowered to engage in dialogue with the neighboring houses. The taller building marks the entrance to the devlopment zone. Both buildings take advantage of the wide surrounding spaces offered to them.
The planted forecourt on the roundabout side highlights the entrance to the residence. Brick emphasizes the alignment of the two buildings and frames the green spaces. It ensures a high quality of the ground floor. Building only two buildings on a single-level parking lot is not just economical: a large green courtyard is created, and a majestic tree marks the entrance on the side of the Tournefeuille street.
The small building and the large one are different. Their unique architecture, side by side, helps manage the visual relationships between the apartments. The large building radiates 360°. The small building opens towards the open views and closes off on the side facing the neighboring building and the roundabout.
However, both architectures follow similar principles. The glass windows are set back, behind balconies or loggias, blending into the background to highlight the brick and concrete masses. Far from the classic design of residential buildings where windows express domestic use, the ‘Au Loin’ residence is made up of blind vertical brick volumes and thick horizontal concrete layers.
These masses protect the apartments from urban nuisances. Yet, they open generously to the surrounding landscape, each in its own way. The corner apartments of the large building and the framed, oriented apartments of the small building offer two different ways of living. The architecture of each building is a direct expression of the quality of its apartments.
All the apartments in the project benefit from one or more distant views. The views from the R+2 building are directed, while those from the R+7 building are open and vary according to the height. The rotation of the balconies around a common
core on all floors creates balconies with variable geometries. The green courtyard of the residence contributes to the landscape design of the development zone through its continuity with the retention basin. The latter can be seen between the R+2 and R+7 buildings, through the angled entrance hall.
The large building is scaled to match the vast landscaped areas of the development zone. It is a tall collective building that residents can recognize from afar. It features balconies that conceal the large corner windows, which are not visible from the ground floor. It offers, admittedly, a classic way of living in a collective setting but provides a ‘belvedere-living room’ in each apartment (T3, T4).
The small building reflects the scale of the villas in St. Martin du Touch, which border the south and east of the plot. It mixes the smallest apartments (T2) with the largest ones (T5). It offers a more individual way of living by protecting each apartment from noise and visual disturbances. Its architecture, composed of blind vertical brick masses, isolates the loggias from each other and borders the roundabout without impacting the residents.
Side by side, the two buildings coexist harmoniously: the careful orientation of the apartments in the small building avoids direct views into neighboring apartments and offers the opportunity to enjoy distant views.
