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Rennes, France

Situated in Rennes’ city centre, just next to the Thabor Park that has an area of 10 ha, the project (completed in 2016) take place on a closed field.

The plot – on the corner of two streets (rue de Paris and Boulevard de la Duchesse Anne) – is half a classified and protected wooded area. This feature obviously has been one of the key factors that led our proposition to be open on the wooded area and to be developed in the depth of the plot.

Initially, the differences of heights in the field (overhanging the street) were hold by a sequence of support walls. These walls have been extended and shape the ground floor of the project. This one is composed of around 100 square meters of common spaces (including a kitchen space and a laundry room). It is on this base that the main body of the project is built, a wooden « monolith ». Here, in order to comply the project with the implementation and development of the wooden area, the building main floors are warped following the location of the existing trees.

Finally, more the building is progressing towards the back of the plot, more it refined, almost disappearing at the end – from 15 meters to the widest to 5 meters in its closest part (that match with the width of one dwelling).

All facades (adjoining facades included) have been handled with the same care: the wood is covering the entire building. This work on the boundaries between the wooded space and the building space allowed opening all the dwellings on the trees and the garden drawn by MADE agency.