ALTA architectes - urbanistes was the studio commissioned to project a new residential building in Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, a French town and commune, located in the Brittany region, department of Ille-et-Vilaine, in the district of Rennes and canton of Rennes-Sud-Ouest, in France. The location is characterized by belonging to an industrial and army storage area.

The design is a completed building that houses a group of homes that serve as a requalification and redevelopment of Jean Mermoz Boulevard, the gateway to the city. The new design prioritizes soft mobility (bicycles and pedestrians), directing traffic towards the Saint-Jacques-Gaîté Multimodal Interchange (bus, metro and parking), located a few minutes walk away.
The Aviator, designed by the architecture studio ALTA architectes - urbanistes, is a project with a program of 52 homes that is divided into two buildings that are joined by a green slab, a common characteristic of the buildings that are developed along the boulevard. The project still differentiates itself from the rest thanks to a variation in height between the buildings that allows beautiful terraces to be inserted to the south that open to the landscape.

The architects took into account the different families that could inhabit the building, generating a program with a wide variation of housing, in this way, the project belongs to a social rental plan. Furthermore, since the ZAC la Courrouze is committed to sustainable excellence and anticipating future housing regulations, they have led to the certification of a district-specific level of performance.


The Aviator by ALTA architectes - urbanistes. Photograph by Charly Broyez.
 

Project description by ALTA architectes - urbanistes

The Rennes-based ALTA agency (Maxime Le Trionnaire and Gwenaël Le Chapelain) has delivered the Aviator, a 52-home (3,462 sqm GFA) program in Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande (Ille-et-Vilaine), between 2022 and 2024, for Espacil Accession + Espacil Habitat, the contracting authorities. The project is composed of two buildings linked by a planted slab. Discovery.

Located on former army industrial and storage sites in the Mermoz sector of the ZAC la Courrouze (mixed development zone) in the Rennes metropolitan area, the Aviator is a housing development completed by the requalification and redevelopment of the boulevard Jean Mermoz. This new gateway to the city gives pride of place to soft mobility (bicycles and pedestrians), directing traffic to the Saint-Jacques-Gaîté Multimodal Interchange Hub (bus, metro and park-and-ride facilities), located just a few minutes’ walk away.

Along the boulevard, the buildings of the various blocks in this sector are laid out in a comb-like pattern, with the urban planners (Studio Paola Vigano) having designed regular sequences of alternating buildings and landscaped areas (valleys and planted slabs) to create north/south porosities. Each block is designed along the same pattern: two buildings perpendicular to the boulevard, linked by a planted slab above the semiunderground parking lot.


The Aviator by ALTA architectes - urbanistes. Photograph by Charly Broyez.

ALTA’s project is composed of two buildings whose skyline va- ries from GF+5 to GF+2 to create an urban signal on the boulevard Jean Mermoz and to insert beautiful terraces to the south that open onto the landscape. The planted slab overhanging the street unifies the composition and provides a green space for exchanges and meetings, enhanced by a large picnic table.

The homes are wide-open, with double or triple orientation. The loggias, carved into the building volume and located in the corners, are designed as additional rooms, protected from the nuisance of the street by a masonry window sill. On the south-facing side, where these nuisances are less of a concern, the housing units open out onto the distant landscape via stepped terraces.

The Aviator project offers a variety of housing types: compact T2 or T3 apartments on the street, souplexes with small gardens on the west facade, and homes with independent entrances and large terraces on the planted slab. All units are treated in the same way, regardless of how they are financed.


The Aviator by ALTA architectes - urbanistes. Photograph by Charly Broyez.

The concrete of the facades, the layout of the hollow joints and the recesses are enhanced by a light grey stain. The wood- work and locksmithing warm up the overall effect with a brown hue, echoing the stone wall on the opposite side of the boulevard. The halls, activity rooms and bicycle rooms, differentiated by large trapezoidal bays borrowing from the vocabulary of arcades, punctuate the first floor.

Based on a social rental loan (BRS) scheme, this program is exemplary in its social mix: 52 housing units, including 22 rental units, 5 controlled-access units, 9 free-access units and 16 units covered by the social rental loan scheme. With this in mind, the association Habitat et Humanisme Ille-et-Vilaine has fitted out 14 apartments and a third-living space in one of the Aviator’s two business units. These units can be rented/su- blet for a limited period of time under a temporary occupancy agreement.


The Aviator by ALTA architectes - urbanistes. Photograph by Charly Broyez.

Finally, as the ZAC la Courrouze (Joint Development Zone) is committed to sustainable excellence, and to better anticipate future housing regulations, a series of measures integrated into the development of new housing has resulted in the certification of a performance level specific to the district: NF Habitat HQE Courrouze.

The Aviator, which is one of the first projects to be built in the Mermoz sector, is pushing the boundaries in terms of environ- mental quality, requiring all its operations to reach the "Excellent" level (9 stars), compared with the "Very High Performance" level (6 stars) for the rest of the ZAC.

More information

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Architects
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Project team
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Project Manager.- Espacil Accession + Espacil Habitat.
Developer.- Territoires.
Urban Planner.- Studio Paola Vigano + Charles Dard (landscaper).
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Collaborators
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Structure engineering.- Ouest Structures.
Fluids / Thermal Engineering.- Thalem.
Acoustic Engineering.- Acoustibel - Polyexpert Environnement.
Business.- Cabinet Lemonnier.
Control Office / Safety & Health Protection.- BTP Consultant.
Project Manager Assistant / Cerqual 9*.- Polyexpert Environnement.
Landscaper.- D’Ici là.
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Contractor
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ELEMENT.
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Area
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3,462 sqm GFA (Gross Floor Area) - 3,135 sqm Living Area.
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Dates
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2022-2024.
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Location
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ZAC la Courrouze, Saint-Jacques de la Lande, Rennes, France.
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Manufacturers
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Major Works.- Angevin.
Facades Cleaning.- GONI.
Waterproofing.- Soprema.
Exterior Woodwork.- Menuiserie Brossault.
Locksmith / Metalwork.- SER AL FER.
Collective Garage Door.- ABF.
Interior Woodwork.- Menuiserie Brossault.
Drywall / Insulation.- Gadby.
Floor Coverings / Earthenware.- Audran.
Wall Painting.- GONI.
Elevator.- KONE.
Plumbing / Heating / Controlled.- BST.
Electricty.- Bernard Electricité.
Low Voltage.- Lepage Electronique.
Green Spaces / Landscaping.- Jourdanière Nature.
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Photography
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ALTA Architectes - Urbanistes | Le Trionnaire - Le Chapelain is a team structured around four associated architects.

Maxime Le Trionnaire and Gwénaël Le Chapelain, DPLG architects, met in 1997 at the Nantes School of Architecture. After graduating in 2004, they worked in several renowned agencies (Architecture-Studio, Block, Duncan Lewis, Stéphane Maupin, X-tu). The Monitor nominated them for the “First work prize” in 2008. In 2010, they joined forces. Since then they have been developing collaboration and continue to refine their architectural visions.  

ALTA Architectes - Urbanistes brings together around twenty employees who work on a contemporary, contextual and responsive architecture Each architectural project tends towards its own singularity, respectful of the suggested program.

In 2014 their agency won the European award “40 UNDER 40” which rewards emerging generation of European architects and designers under 40 years old.

Alain Tassot and Jean-Luc Le Trionnaire, DPLG architects, have worked together in Rennes since 1990. Rich in major projects in the different spheres related to public or private orders, they founded a/LTA Architects – Planners Agency in 2002. 

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Published on: April 4, 2024
Cite: "Deduction of a typology. The Aviator by ALTA architectes - urbanistes" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/deduction-a-typology-aviator-alta-architectes-urbanistes> ISSN 1139-6415
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