A common house

Construction of a five-unit apartment building, a shared greenhouse and renovation of a house. Maison Commune is a built manifesto and an open process with its inhabitants. It is a small housing project that
defines and highlights a sequence of shared spaces and the joy of everyday life. A concrete evidence and a learning tool on how we want to live together.

1. Towards self-commission.
To design our own briefs has been key in the past and fundamental for the future of our practice. On this, Maison
Commune is a specific model to learn from : we were able to design the brief from the very beginning, leading the
administrative, financial and architectural studies and processes. Taking such responsibilities directly benefited the
project. It allowed us to keep a good level of autonomy and openness when taking fundamental spatial and material
decisions.
2. Site specificity and charm.
The plot of 15m x 17m is located next to the Parisian Cemetery of Pantin (an ignored metropolitan garden of
107 hectares) and included a two-floor L-shape worker’s house. The unique charm of this low density residential
neighbourhood, closely surrounded by industrial buildings, dwells in the loose closeness to the city that surrounds it.
3. Open Design Process.
The initial project was an extension of the existing house towards the street. This option was discarded during the studies
after confirming the fragility of the ground and existing structure. In the end we decided to demolish the volume towards
the street (60% of the whole existing building), to provide a resistant new frame. The value of pre-existences needs to be
confirmed case by case.

4. Form follows attitude.
Although the urban regulations allowed us to build 4 floors, we decided to build only 3. By doing so, we avoided blocking the sunlight to neighbours and at the same time, to introduce a covered shared space on the rooftop. In other words, building less private space, but ensuring generous spaces of encounter for the inhabitants.

5. Commons in sequence.
The ratio between domestic spaces (336,7 m²) and collective spaces (230,2 m²) is exemplary. A sequence of shared and non-heated spaces integrates accesses in all levels. The hall has an infrastructural character
(leaving space for bikes and trolleys), connected with the inner courtyard and existing house. The vertical commons has its own identity: a concrete stairs casted on site is then enclosed by a light polycarbonate layer, thus expressing a cut-out in the facade towards the courtyard. Doors for accessing apartments are translucent, bringing light and depth to the interiors and extending the domestic life to the circulation.
The system of commons is crowned by a generous greenhouse (integrating a communal kitchen and laundry) and a terrace with privileged views towards the surroundings.

6. Simplicity, always.
The project is defined by a strong simplicity in the building site. A rational concrete skeleton (pillars & beams) of three
floors is easily completed by prefabricated concrete slabs and masonry. A common sensical choreography avoiding
useless complexity.

7. Re-use at the scale of the building.
Reclaimed bricks were found and cleaned in Belgium (less than 300km of distance, reducing even more the carbon
footprint) and then tested in France. Towards the street bricks were left apparent, making visible its roughness and
ageing. The interior facade is then painted white contributing to give unity and light to the new shared garden.

8. Collaboration as a project.
The success of this project relied upon the collective intelligence of a diverse group of people. It profited from the
knowledge and experience of colleagues, consultants and builders, bringing precision, rigour and challenging solutions
along the whole process. On this, the handrail system (produced by Studio Emile) was developed as a project within the
project.