Iconic social housing, Margot-Duclot architectes associés

Paris-based architecture firm Margot-Duclot architectes associés has designed Immobilière 3F, a complex with 68 social housing units and 20 apartments for people who need medical assistance. The complex is convincing because the mixture of metal and brick make it very striking visually.


The architects, Gilles and Guillaume Margot-Duclot, who founded Margot-Duclot architectes associés, in 2012, have designed social housing that goes way beyond all our preconceived ideas of this building category - Immobilière 3F.
Huge investments have been made in the social housing market in France for some time now, as authorities and associations seek to integrate different user groups under a single roof. And it's all done with great care and attention to design results, which don't stop at just the functions but also take heed of the aesthetic aspect.
Immobilière 3F in Vigneux-sur-Seine, located 18 km south-west of Paris, looks like a real architectural icon, made even more charming visually by the contrast between the two materials used: brick, for its symbolic reference to the home and to engage with the district, and expanded metal for its light, contemporary feel.
So the taller building - which accommodates 68 social units - almost dematerialises despite its proportions, thanks to the expanded metal used to give privacy to the balconies or terraces, depending on the unit.
Conversely, the bare brick building with 20 apartments for people who need medical assistance is long and low, and the interiors are arranged around community spaces, thereby creating a stronger visual tie with the territory.
The Immobilière 3F complex by Margot-Duclot architectes associés is proof positive that in the social housing category, good design can be used to create places you feel a bond with, homes that make you feel good, despite any other contingent problems.

Christiane Bürklein

Program: social housing, 68 residential units and one residence for medically assisted people
Architects: MARGOT-DUCLOT architectes associés, http://mdaa.fr/
Project manager:  MARGOT-DUCLOT Guillaume
Surface: Housing units 4870m² / Foster 900m²
Competition: June 2012
Project end date: May 2016
General contractor: BAGOT
Images: 11h45
Thanks to v2com