Nancy Coeur De Coteaux | 2021- on going, Benoist Desfonds, France

Architects: LOCAL (Benoist Desfonds, Capucine Allé, Matthieu Boustany, Sabrina Boutarraha, Anne Brechenmacher)
Landscape: HBLA
Engineering: BET Louvet
Client: Private
Photographer: Graph Studio

Overlooking Nancy, the "Coeur de Coteaux" plot intertwines diverse elements: a protected park transformed into gardens, hidden homes and offices, a large active historic building, and a modernist concrete ruin.

The architects’ urban and architectural intervention looks to densify with sensitivity and rigor, reinvigorating the area with housing and nature. At the upper part of the land, the rehabilitation of the twin office buildings allows the creation of housing with a strong identity and high heights. At the bottom edge of the plot, two buildings are detached and assembled by stepping in the plan to follow the slope.

The envelopes of the buildings respond to the materiality of the former historic headquarters of the Foundries of Pont-à-Mousson: glass, concrete, and metal. The design team expresses them with a domestic approach. Serving as a connection between upstream and downstream, the landscaping can host various events. Meanwhile, a green corridor frames a new perspective on Nancy's skyline.