Social housing apartments White Clouds in Saintes
The architects describe their three apartment buildings in Saintes, one and a half hours north of Bordeaux, as “white clouds”. And indeed the clear forms of the buildings do seem to fray at the edges, in much the same way as changing cloud formations. Clad in white corrugated metal, the buildings appear light and constantly in motion – as if composed of changeable modular cubes. It seems as if the irregular recesses in floor plan and silhouette are compensated for elsewhere by projecting, translucent loggias. In contrast to this concept the task set by the competition was anything but poetic: 30 social housing dwelling units on the fringe of a harsh working class district made up of monotonous 1970s blocks. The tight budget meant that only the translucent loggias could be prefabricated as cubic steel modules, whereas the shell was built conventionally of blocks, the concrete floor slabs were cast on site, and the architects had to dispense with a basement. In different sizes and projecting to different extents, the loggias not only contribute to the building’s airy appearance but offer highly usable outdoor spaces that extend the tightly dimensioned floor plans. Different gauges of metal mesh are used to control views into the loggia spaces and consequently determine the degree of privacy. The outdoor spaces with the denser mesh to prevent neighbours seeing in are intended for storing things like garden furniture or also for drying laundry. Areas resembling windows that are cut out of the mesh always face towards the most attractive views. No two apartments are the same and the three buildings also differ from each other. The parking spaces in the two parallel buildings raised somewhat above the slope cannot be seen from outside as they are integrated in the sunken ground floor behind the same white mesh facade as the loggias and can therefore be naturally lit and ventilated. The third building has instead two apartments at ground floor level. Its north front faces directly onto the street and has no projecting bays, the flat facade creating an interesting contrast to the other buildings.
