In order to address the urban issues raised by the 100m long façade of this building on the
Place Nord of the ZAC, it was conceived as a series of four volumes. The creation of the visual breaks between these buildings not only allows air, daylight, purity and a sense of lightness to penetrate the block but also maximizes the total length of façade and, hence, the ability to improve the comfort of apartment residents by giving their apartments a number of orientations.
The base of the block is commercial space, creating a huge shop window which opens onto the future Place Nord.
The main body of the BBC building consists of four volumes. Two of these volumes, clad in gold, provide urban continuity with PLOT 3.2 to the south and are connected to the pure white main volumes by bridges.
On the southern side, continuous balconies with golden sliding panels create a sense of horizontal energy and of slenderness at the corner of the building - which again enhances the sense of place.
The rooftop volumes of the buildings play two roles in the general composition. Taking on the golden colour of the two smaller blocks, they emphasise the white purity of the main volumes – and the manner in which they rise towards the corners of the building introduces a sense of equilibrium into the general volumetric effect.
An extra ground floor volume (commercial space) completes the architectural composition on the west façade. Clad in golden coloured perforated metal sheet the building appears like a “folly” but was conceived with the important objective of reinforcing the rootedness of the project and providing a pivot between the building, the human scale and the boulevard.
Borderouge / Plot 3.1, Toulouse, 2013
- PROGRAM_98 apartments, commercial units
- LOCATION_Toulouse (31)
- SURFACE AREA_7 300m² including 800m² retail and service units
- COST_€9m (excluding tax)
- CLIENT_Bouygues Immobilier
- DESIGNER_Agence Patrick Chavannes
- ROLE_complete project management
- PHASE_planned completion late 2012
- COLLABORATORS_infrastructural engineering: INGEROP / landscape design: Agence Patrick Chavannes / environmental engineering: POLYDIG