stephane malka: ame lot student residences clad in recycled wood pallets

stephane malka: ame-lot student residences boasts recycled wood pallet exterior in paris, france all images courtesy of stéphane malka architecture

stephane malka‘s proposal for a central parisian student residence pairs the surplus of industrial production and the need to reclaim the urban built form with its recycled crate-covered ‘ame-lot’ residences. in an appropriation of almost duchampian proportions, the french architect and graffiti artist has proposed a skin of wooden pallet, able to fold and create a modular geometry, aimed at breathing a new life into an existing building.

held using horizontal hinges, the new envelope posits a new environmental approach that consists of layered superimpositions of existing materials and system– a step beyond mere recycling, but rather the assignment of a new meaning to discarded, single-use micro structures by designing them to become a macro strategy. the power of accretion is on full display in the work; a full reversal of the often damaging relationship between the environment and unabashed consumption. the architecture proposes that walls should be thickened and the urban form need be an ever-changing space that invites in the byproducts of its ecology.   

street views show the folded skin actually adding visual complexity to the urban landscape 

closer view of the wooden palette system 

the crates are fitted with hinges  the allow optimal flexibility for shading and privacy 

the  proposal seeks to thicken the urban interstice 

the french shutter typology meets the byproduct of industrial overproduction

the new envelope is  additionally directional and articulated the existing building’s mass 

elevation view 

model view of the building with folded modules 

elevation view of the light-catching palette skin

model view of the building sans folded modules 

diagram of the building system to scale