Lot 1 Mixed-use block, ZAC Port Marianne-République
Lot 1 Mixed-use Block is located in the Port Marianne-République ZAC, which is a new district of twelve neighbourhoods planned in the city of Montpellier to replace a previously neglected area along a freeway located 2.5km from the city center. The district aims to provide 1,800 housing units with the creation of a retail offering to meet the needs of the new residents, while also providing office and service space.
The brief for the Lot 1 Block asked for 4100m2 of offices, 2000m2 of housing divided across 31 residential units, and 314m2 of retail space. The block is to also house a 450m2 logistic center for temporary storage of goods and short delivery circuits. Given the mixed-use nature of the block, we asked ourselves: as the demand and nature of workspace as well as domestic space are bound to change over time, how can we design the block to avoid its future obsolescence?
To ensure the building is resilient in the event of changes of demand for work or residential space, levels 2 to 8 are designed with a uniform height of 3.4 m from slab to slab. This height is ideal for offices, as it allows a floor-to-ceiling height of 2.7 m, while allowing the residential floors to benefit from a generous 3.0 m sub-ceiling height. In addition, the shafts and lifts are run vertically through the complex to ensure that each floor can be used for either offices or residential accommodation. Moreover, the block is designed with a 6-metre structural grid, which is equally suited to offices and housing.
The building’s façades are also designed to be identical throughout so that any space can be used for work or residential use. The façade is corrugated on plan to create pockets of outdoor space varying size throughout the perimeter of the block. The corrugated arrangement of the facades also allows the glazed and solid panels to change location to minimise sun exposure to the interior, and to maximise privacy of the interiors. To fulfil the request of the immediate brief, the offices are designed to accommodate either a single tenant of 710m2 per floor or to be divisible into two halves for multiple companies with two different entrance halls. The average depth of the office floors is 14 metres in the western section and 10.5 metres in the northern section. With an average ceiling height of 2.7 m, this depth offers abundant natural light and the possibility of natural ventilation. The underlying 6 m structural grid has also been subdivided into an undulating 2 m façade. This structural regularity allows individual offices and meeting rooms to be arranged parallel or at 45 degrees to the façade. To enable office workers to take advantage of Montpellier’s favourable climate, each office floor will have a large outdoor relaxation area. The residential units have been laid out along the 6-metre structural grid, perpendicular to the façade. This orientation allows all the units to be aligned with the façade and to have orthogonal interior plans. Although 82% of the units are double aspect, even those that are not benefit from differentiated views and solar orientation owing to their corrugated facades. Each home will also have at least one generous outdoor terrace. Some homes have one or two terraces per room, and as many as five terraces. Other units have a large terrace shared by several bedrooms. These different layouts allow future residents to choose their outdoor spaces and how they want to occupy their homes.
In the future, should demands for more homes or workspaces arise, the above distribution can easily be changed, and offices and homes will acquire unusual outdoor spaces, such as offices with several outdoor spaces that once belonged to an apartment, or, apartments with many small balconies.99
Team
Arcitect - Farshid Moussavi Architecture
Project Data
Location
Montpellier, France
Client
TDS Promotion / Les Nouveaux Constructeurs
Date
2024
Total area
7400 m2
Awards
10.5 million Euro