Îlot Sainte-Claire
Regeneration of an urban block into intermediate housing and a new toy library
Client Alogéa
Design team Desplaces Ducher Architectes, Terreauciel, Ecozimut, ISAO structure and civil works, TEOH cost consultancy
Mission Full mission
Address 09100 Pamiers
Programme Toy library and 45 homes, including 16 social rental homes, 7 PSLA affordable homes for sale, 11 homes for older people and 11 homes for young workers, civil works and landscaping
Labels Effinature – NF Habitat HQE – Bâtiment Durable Occitanie
Area 4,500 m² GFA
Budget €5.2M excl. VAT
Dates competition 2025
In Pamiers, the regeneration of the Sainte-Claire block starts from a conviction: every site holds the keys to its own transformation. The built heritage of the town centre, its uses, its craftsmanship and its landscape are not merely a preliminary survey, but a design material in their own right. The aim is to identify what should be preserved, transformed or requalified, to provide a frugal and lasting answer in continuity with the identity of the place.
We propose to work “through the void”: rather than saturating the plot, the project frees up an open-ground courtyard, generously planted and open to pedestrian routes. Designed with Terreauciel, this garden combines diverse local species, regulates the block’s microclimate, manages rainwater on site and offers residents spaces they can make their own, with gentle thresholds between communal life and privacy.
The programme is mixed: social rental housing, affordable homes for sale (PSLA), homes for older people and young workers, and a toy library. We respond by creating unity through diversity: varied volumes and heights, duplexes, single-level homes and intermediate housing, differentiated openings and finishes – timber, render, brick, stone, raw earth. This variety echoes the richness of historic town centres and ensures a gentle transition with the neighbouring terraced houses, in a logic of urban stitching rather than clean slate.
Our architecture offers a contemporary reinterpretation of the mouldings, proportions and materials of the traditional town house of Pamiers, continuing our work in Cornebarrieu and Saint-Martin-du-Touch. Compact volumes, bio-based and local materials and a bioclimatic performance targeting the RE2020 2028 threshold complete the approach.
We propose to work “through the void”: rather than saturating the plot, the project frees up an open-ground courtyard, generously planted and open to pedestrian routes. Designed with Terreauciel, this garden combines diverse local species, regulates the block’s microclimate, manages rainwater on site and offers residents spaces they can make their own, with gentle thresholds between communal life and privacy.
The programme is mixed: social rental housing, affordable homes for sale (PSLA), homes for older people and young workers, and a toy library. We respond by creating unity through diversity: varied volumes and heights, duplexes, single-level homes and intermediate housing, differentiated openings and finishes – timber, render, brick, stone, raw earth. This variety echoes the richness of historic town centres and ensures a gentle transition with the neighbouring terraced houses, in a logic of urban stitching rather than clean slate.
Our architecture offers a contemporary reinterpretation of the mouldings, proportions and materials of the traditional town house of Pamiers, continuing our work in Cornebarrieu and Saint-Martin-du-Touch. Compact volumes, bio-based and local materials and a bioclimatic performance targeting the RE2020 2028 threshold complete the approach.
