The competition for a new mixed-use building in Lille piqued our interest both in its unprecedented mixture of program and its prominent triangular site in the heart of the new district of Porte de Valenciennes. The brief outlined a 70-cradle nursery, a 200-bed youth hostel, and an office dedicated to social and economic innovations all collected under one unified roof; a tall order even by multifunctional building standards. Rather than simply dividing horizontally by level or vertically by mass, our solution combines efficient organization with a programmatic strategy that converts the geometric constrictions of the site into social amenities, and resolves the seemingly contradictory functions in an intertwined social spiral.
© Julien Lanoo

Architects: JDS Architects

Location: Lille, France

Author: Julien De Smedt

Project Leaders: Kamile Malinauskaite, Renaud Pereira

Area: 6.98 m2

Project Year: 2016

Photographs: Julien Lanoo, Courtesy of JDS Architects

Project Team: Valentine Gruwez, Wouter Dons, Sandra Fleischmann, Weronica Wojcik, Felix Luong, Lea Fournier, Adrien Mans, Boris Tikvarski, Bartolomiej Zaboj, Mateusz Góra, Edgar Rodríguez , Lionel Roullet, Mathilde Dutilleul, Olfa Kammoun

Structural Consultant: Egis Bâtiments Nord

Façade: Demathieu & Bard

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