146-unit social student dormitories
location: montreuil, france
client: sopic / town of montreuil
design team: s. barclay - j.p. crousse - g. roustan – j.m. viste
project team: a. casemajor
urban design: a. siza, m. corajoud, c. devillers, l. beaudouin
built surface: 4665 m2
completion: 2009
The building is at the heart of the urban project for downtown Montreuil, designed by Alvaro Siza, Michel Corajoud, Christian Devillers, and Laurent Beaudouin. The volumes, simple and clear, emphasize the verticality of the nearby buildings and the theatre. The facades are perforated with large windows that unite four dorm windows. In this way, the scale of the building is purposely altered to match the abstract language of the theatre. One single type of window is used to adapt to the different program specifications, giving a strong unity to the building.