A gold-colored residential complex in Bordeaux has been completed by Hamonic + Masson, in order to respond to its waterfront setting. The scheme of this urban block forms part of ‘bassins à flot’, a major 162-hectare development laid out by Nicolas Michelin, a french architect, and urban planner. Michelin’s brief was to establish a link between the architecture and the site that builds on the port’s industrial character. Named ‘urban dock’, the design results in an undulating silhouette that seems similar to a small village from ground level. Take a look.
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The single vertically protruding element is a nine-storey building that juts upwards like a periscope — referencing the plot’s nautical history. ‘The building synthesizes the city’s different aspirations, and forms a tangible link between public space and this particular lot’s private space,’ explains the design team.
As well as creating intriguing vertical patterns, the cladding also produces an iridescent ‘double skin’. Different transparencies are combined with the shimmering exterior to provide a stark contrast with the white loggias located at the center of the scheme.
Hamonic + Masson & Associés is a firm headed by Gaëlle Hamonic, Jean-Christophe Masson and, since, 2013, Marie-Agnès de Bailliencourt. The practice was founded in 1997, was nominated for the Mies van Der Rohe prize in 2001, and in 2002 was awarded the Nouveaux Albums de la Jeune Architecture. They became recognized by the general public in 2003 after designing the Maison Métal for the Parc de la Villette.
The agency develops projects everywhere in France and by now has some fifteen realizations to its credit. It works with public and private contractors and strives to act in all types of contexts and fields.
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Source: Designboom
