Midnight in Fauboug Saint-Colomban – (77) – France

Project carried out with  Bontempi Architecture

Project: Competition for a new district in Marne la Vallee

Date: 2020

Statutes: Not retained

We participated in this competition with Pier Carlo Bontempi Architects, for the creation of a new residential area in the spirit of the «faubourg» neighbourhood.

Our approach is best summarized by the extract from the competition:

“The architectures of the houses are simple, located outside the city walls, the neighbourhood does not exhibit the richness and elegance of the buildings in the city center.

The defining walls rise along the main roads, outside the gates, then incorporated into the city as the urban expansion of the 19th century took place. Later, a peri-urban area will form which will integrate the neighbourhood without depriving it of its original character.

Here the area does not host country houses but affirms a pronounced taste for the vernacular. The composition of the facades is not rigorous but rather dictated by practical needs. Only a few buildings display a hint of more classic moldings, attesting to the success of their residents’ activities. This is how the desire is born to enrich the functional simplicity of a home with a semblance of elegance, capable in this way of showing the well-being. «