The Orange of Ris | Edouard François

At the end of the Monthléry trail as it exits the forest, a bend in Brossolette road can be found. Our housing project is situated at this bend.
First designed as a simplistic cube, "ears" and "boxes" were soon added onto the volume in order to satisfy the program. Then, a parking deck was added below it. Rationally, it extends beyond the base of the cube in order to provide the most efficient spatial organization. Our project thus became, in a sense, "uprooted"; the cube and its parking lot are placed directly on the terrain.
The complexity of the project arises from the visibility of this clever overlay of volumes that exists in many buildings below ground level but is never acknowledged.
The structure has been deliberately simplified in order to give a simple reading to the heterogeneous stacking. With impressive cantilevers rather than columns, the building seems to stand on its nucleus. To achieve this feat, the facades are heavily structured from top to bottom.
The volume is clad with large, orange terracotta tiles. It is a material that will give a warm and welcoming note to a building that acts as an entrance to the town, acknowledging the roofs of neighboring barns and the factories of Ris. The roof is made of the same material. A tuft of vegetation escapes the top of the building like smoke from an unlikely chimney.
Each window benefits from a generous sill made out of Ductal, allowing each inhabitant to place plants in his window.
The pots are the same color and same material as the facade. They will be provided upon delivery of the building.
A flowery slope with the coat of arms of the city will complete the composition, hiding some of the parking deck.