The Basket Apartments student housing was designed by OFIS as part of a larger urban development designed by Reichen & Robert Architects in Paris’ 19th district. Located on a long narrow lot the edge of Parc La Vilette, the 11-story apartment complex is composed of a series of “baskets” or boxes stacked on top of each other. Oriented to the north and south, the east facade features timber slats and private balconies. The west facade contains the circulation corridors and provides access to all the apartments. A dynamic metal mesh facade shades the western facade from the hot afternoon soon, but still provides views over the football field and to the center of Paris and the Eiffel Tower.
Shared common spaces take up the bottom floors, while the rest contain studio apartments with a kitchenette, bathroom, study area, bed, wardrobe and private patio. A small ground floor garden separates the two sides of the complex, which is connected by a bridge. Each apartment was designed to create a healthy interior that would facilitate learning. With the narrow floor plate, all apartments receive plenty of natural daylighting and cross ventilation. A high performance facade with 20 cm of insulation works in conjunction with energy efficient mechanical systems to ensure the entire building uses 50KWh/m2 or less. In addition, a rooftop photovoltaic system generates electricity for the building and rainwater is collected on site in a basin pool and used for watering outdoor green spaces.
Images ©Tomaz Gregoric
