The project is located in Lyon, France, and gives a new life to an underground car park. The biophilic character is in the concrete framework of the car park. One part of the car park is used for housing; the other part is destined for mixed-use programmes that will participate in the life of this Lyon of the 2050s.
A light shaft is dug along the car park; it is not rectilinear but follows the model of Indian shafts, making it possible to bring a maximum of light to the future housing. The dwellings are built along the new open façade of the car park. The other side of the well is a park that creates a new public space, the plantations represent a green lung for the city.
The aim is to combine the rectilinear structure of the car park with the poetic curves of the curved wooden housing. This construction technique creates rounded curves that fit into the structure. The dwellings are duplexes to ensure maximum natural light. They can accommodate a household where each inhabitant has his or her own space and views of the exterior or interior garden, and each is also confronted with a strong relationship to nature with the awareness of being underground and the presence of raw materials.
With the global warming, the use of fossil fuels and emissions from overcrowded cities are problematic. This project provides social, energy and territorial solutions:
- The public space compressed in the density of the city is now deployed in verticality
- Housing allows city dwellers to get closer to nature
- The underground situation allows to take advantage of the heat of the earth with geothermal installations for the winter and especially a protection to the heat waves which will be stronger and more frequent