Alsace. A warm elderly housing along the Rhine

Dominique Coulon & Associés focuses on collective spaces turned towards the river to foster relations among inhabitants.

Dominique Coulon & Associés, elderly housing, Huningue, France, 2017

A housing for elderly people made of red craft bricks by Dominique Coulon & Associés overlooks the Rhine river in Huningue, France. The concept prioritizes the creation of light-filled common spaces that overlook the river while encouraging mobility and social interactions.

The housing on the Rhine river is developed in three levels, a basement and two floors. The volume of the structure is conceived to be permeable, as the ground floor is designed to be crossed without obstacles, and porous, as it features a patio and a terrace overlooking the Rhine. The almost 4,000 sqm surface is divided in 25 homes of 50 sqm each, several common areas, a restaurant, a computer room, a workshop, and amenities such as a vegetable garden and a petanque field.

At the centre of the building, a stair produces a centripetal movement of the inhabitants and the visitors, fostering mobility and therefore social relations. The external envelope, made of craft bricks arranged following different patterns, presents imperfections and variations in colour, connecting the building to its port setting and to the city’s history. The materials chosen for both the interiors and the exteriors – red concrete, terracotta and wood – enrich the spatial and atmospheric qualities of the building.

Dominique Coulon & Associés, elderly housing, Huningue, France, 2017
Project:
elderly housing
Location:
Huningue, Alsace, France
Program:
residential
Architect:
Dominique Coulon & associés
Team:
Dominique Coulon, Olivier Nicollas, Gautier Duthoit, Javier Gigosos-Ruipérez, Diego Bastos-Romero, Gautier Duthoit, Olivier Poula
Structures:
Batiserf Ingénierie
MEP - Mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering:
Artelia
Acoustics:
Euro sound project
Landscape:
Bruno Kubler
Area:
4,000 sqm
Completion:
2017

Latest on Architecture

Latest on Domus

Read more
China Germany India Mexico, Central America and Caribbean Sri Lanka Korea icon-camera close icon-comments icon-down-sm icon-download icon-facebook icon-heart icon-heart icon-next-sm icon-next icon-pinterest icon-play icon-plus icon-prev-sm icon-prev Search icon-twitter icon-views icon-instagram