On a former industrial wasteland made up of workshops of the technical services of the city of Paris, a new district was born, called “Fertile Island”. On 1.7 hectares, between the RER line, the lane of the small belt and rue d’Aubervilliers, in the 19ethis eco-district, whose construction took place from 2019 to 2022, is entirely dedicated to gentle circulation with the idea of better control of carbon emissions.
Designed by the developer Linkcity, in partnership with the architecture and town planning agency TVK and the landscaper OLM, it is part of the first wave of Reinventing Paris calls for projects, launched at the end of 2014.
You have to enter the island to take its measure, engage in the pedestrian path which crosses it, which will widen as you go deeper into it, until it forms a public space in its heart. welcoming, as recounted in an article in the World.
Framed by four buildings located on either side of the track, this place of exchange and good living together is built on two levels: at the bottom, a landscaped space with 1,000 m2 grassy slabs. Upstairs, a garden level of the same size planted in the ground, directly connected to rue d’Aubervilliers, leads to the entrances to the accommodation as well as to a lush vegetable garden and the hotel’s green terrace. The choice was made not to offer any parking, as the existing transport network nearby (new RER E and Tram station) should allow residents to get around.
Diversity
The Fertile Island was designed to promote social diversity, but also uses. The complex offers 126 housing units (79 free rental units, 31 intermediate rental units, 16 social rental units), a student residence and another for young workers. A 129-room hotel and a 228-bed youth hostel complete the accommodation offering.
The islet also makes room for sports and relaxation with a 3,500 m complex2 managed by UCPA. This attractive location is also accompanied by local shops, a restaurant, offices for medium or large companies, and a last mile logistics base distributing parcels to be delivered in the neighborhood by electric bicycles. Residents are thus called upon to mingle with office employees, customers of the hotel, the youth hostel and the sports center.
With its public garden, its green bio-solar roofs, its planted terraces and its shared vegetable gardens with almost 30 fruit trees, the Fertile Island is also a setting for fauna and flora. Insect hotels, bat houses on the roof and even a dry stone wall to accommodate lizards have been installed. And bird nest boxes (swifts, sparrows, black redstarts) are integrated into the facades of the buildings. The spaces located on the ground floor are in fact mainly dedicated to common programs and shared spaces: they are largely glazed on the outside to increase visual permeability, and increase inside/outside interactions.
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