Typology: Collective housing
Location : Meinier, Geneva
Owner : Fondation immobilière de Meinier
Competition
File : MEI
Date : 2021
We have noted the quality of life of the village of Meinier, as much in its historical structure, since it was built along a border axis, as in its contemporary development around green areas. Our research has led us to consider the codes of traditional rural architecture in Geneva. The project seeks to establish a coherent dialogue between a current habitat with all its complexity and its issues in an old codified fabric: The disassociation of a single volume to find a dimension close to the existing fabric, the direction of the roofs, the typologies of housing, the semi-external spaces... (balconies, loggias, terraces)
Our proposal of housing typologies essentially crossing is in line with those already present in Meinier. The dwellings will open on one side onto the open space of the square and the garden where they will benefit from play and meeting spaces as well as edible gardens that echo the old orchards present on the edge of the road and the village.
We seek to make the most of the sun's contribution in winter, and to protect against overheating in summer. This allows us to generate a passive thermal regulation. To do this, the project develops a system of large balconies, providing solar protection and shaded outdoor spaces for each home. The tone of the coatings takes into account the need to maintain a low albedo, through light colors. The efficient thermal envelope allows for a minimum phase shift of 12 hours.
Our proposal aims at an optimal ecobalance. We propose to use materials directly from the ground, such as excavation soil for the realization of party walls in poured earth. This new method, which is developing more and more, makes it possible to limit the impact of concrete while preserving the mass of the buildings, which is favorable to their inertia. These walls also have the ability to naturally regulate ambient humidity.
The structure and balconies are made of Swiss wood, as well as the beams and slabs of solid wood with pegs. For the exterior wood, we prefer hardwoods, which are very resistant for exterior use and still underused by our industry. For the use of concrete, we want to use aggregates from recycled demolition sites in Geneva, in order to minimize its environmental impact.
The facade is thus composed of a wooden frame filled with straw bales. We will use the earth and its perspiring power for the realization of interior and exterior coatings. We will add lime to perpetuate the facade in the face of bad weather and to match the local context.
For phonic questions, we propose to weigh down the slabs with a layer of sand and to dilate the sound through the plant wool, above which will be drawn an anhydrite screed to lay a nailed solid wood floor. The idea is to limit the use of materials from petrochemicals.
Our proposal will consist in framing and accompanying the transition towards the natural landscape of the Seymaz plains. The volumes articulate an exterior space set back from the street, which will be linked to a central space on the side of a quiet garden with trees. The external arrangements aim to encourage exchange between the inhabitants and the neighborhood. The respect of the calm and the privacity of each one is translated by cages distributing 2 apartments by stages, stays and rooms directed primarily towards the great landscape and calm gardens. The water is collected by two valleys, with buffer zones, which finally lead to a retention basin allowing the development of a biotope with filtering plants.
At the foot of the vertical structures of the balconies, in the open ground, climbing plants are placed to add shade to the façade. The plants will weave a vegetal curtain between the kitchen balconies and above the entrance doors. The vegetation will serve as food for birds and insects, which are present in the countryside. We pay particular attention to the conservation of biodiversity that we wish to develop on the site thanks to the organic filtration basin, and the storage of the EP in a biotope with filtration by plants.
