Prefab Parisian housing is clad in a double-skin timber facade to optimize solar shading

French architecture firm <a href="http://www.tectone.fr" target="_blank">Tectône</a> recently completed an energy-efficient Parisian housing development. Created as part of an urban renewal project in Aubervilliers’ Auvry Barbusse district, the multi-family apartments are built with <a href="http://inhabitat.com/architecture/prefab-housing/" target="_blank">prefab</a> timber frames covered with strips of pine for a double-skin facade that provides solar shading and protects residents’ privacy. The buildings are oriented to maximize natural daylight and rainwater is collected and recycled for on-site irrigation.

Although the buildings are mostly clad in wood, the structural bases are made from white concrete to improve thermal insulation.

Gardens flank the three structures at street level and are also located on two accessible rooftops.

The housing development was built on a former industrial site and includes 39 multi-family flats, 3 craft shops, and a car park.

The prefab wooden facades are sheathed in untreated pine slats, which will gradually develop a silvery patina over time.

Each flat offers a double or triple orientation to maximize natural daylight.

Sliding wooden shutters are built inside the gap of the timber layers.