Developed for plot S14B of the Saint-Martin-du-Touch development zone in Toulouse, this project of 45 homes questions contemporary ways of living by offering an alternative between the apartment and the detached house. The project is organised around two buildings: a seven-storey urban volume on the street front and a lower building in the heart of the block. This composition preserves a large central landscaped space, a true inhabited biotope, where open ground is maximised.
We developed the concept of the “faubourg building”, a hybrid typology combining the qualities of collective housing with those of individual homes. The apartments enjoy generous outdoor spaces, a strong presence of vegetation and duplex layouts akin to stacked houses.
The construction approach supports this architectural ambition. The project combines concrete and timber with a logic of frugality and efficiency: concrete infrastructure and bases for their thermal mass and durability, timber-frame façades and upper floors built entirely in timber to reduce structural loads and the building’s carbon footprint.
The homes were designed to offer a high level of comfort and respond to the challenges of climate change. All have generous outdoor spaces — deep terraces or private gardens — extending the use of the home. Most apartments are dual-aspect, through or duplex, encouraging natural ventilation. Large windows bring light and quality of use while being protected by overhangs, deep balconies and solar shading that limit summer overheating. Combined with the thermal mass of walls and floors, these passive principles ensure lasting comfort during heatwaves.