Ville d'Avray
Living in a vegetated enclave
Ville d'Avray
SCCV Ville d’Avray La Forêt
Housing (69 apartments including 21 social housing units)
Ville d’Avray, France
2024
Site area 4,168 m²
Bechu & Associés
Volume ABC
© Nicolas Grosmond
© Fernando Javier Urquijo
The project
The context
Located at the entrance to Ville d’Avray when arriving from Versailles, the project is set within a long clearing that opens into the Fausses Reposes national forest along the D985. This exceptional site reflects the history of the town, which was born in the Middle Ages at the heart of a clearing and later shaped by large estates built in the 19th century by leading cultural figures.
The layouts
The project proposes an innovative approach to living in the forest. Two passageways are created on either side of the site to visually reconnect the two parts of the forest separated by the road. A transversal green corridor crosses the plot, creating a green framework that unifies the neighbourhood. The buildings are set within two clearings, wrapped in vegetation on all four sides.
Interior architecture
The façades are designed to maximise the intake of natural light into all living spaces. Recesses increase the length of the façades, allowing for wide picture windows and creating sequences within the gardens. The apartments benefit from generous balconies and spectacular views over the surrounding vegetation.
An exemplary landscape integration
The green framework.
The project makes the most of the omnipresent vegetation, both that of the forest and that of the neighbourhood gardens. It creates visual openings and green connections that reinforce the overall landscape coherence of the entire area.
Architectural innovation
Between tradition and modernity.
The façades, resolutely contemporary, are crowned with brick friezes streaked with glazed lines, recalling the tradition of historic villas. The planted roof terraces, all accessible, create a dialogue between architecture and nature at the height of the canopy.
A unique art of living
Living in the forest.
The project offers a new way of living in harmony with nature. The private and shared outdoor spaces, the sequenced gardens and the landscaped terraces provide residents with a unique living experience in the heart of the vegetation.
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