XTU architects: duploye apartments, paris

‘duploye apartments’ by XTU architects, 18th district of paris, franceimage © renaud dessade

the ‘duploye apartments’ by XTU architects seek to be an urban ribbon between two major roads in paris’s 18th arrondissement. with a facade of both laquered and brushed metal, the buildings are a tectonic reinterpretation of baroque revivalist architecture of the first and second arrondissement.

instead of intricate curves and setback stones, the apartments employ periscopic framed or projected windows with an inlaid coat of neon green lacquer. elements of the facade extend interior surfaces while creating bold compositions in elevation that additionally change with the fleeting quality of the sunlight. balconies jut out in a similar fashion over a generous interior courtyard, while double glazing is set back to prevent solar heat gain. color also plays role in the overall sustainable ecology of the building, what with whites and grays on west  courtyard walls and aluminum retained for the remaining skin. every dwelling has its own terrace and all units have access to the rooftop garden. 

street views of the apartments and ground level shops image © XTU architects

close up view of the protruding window frames image © XTU architects

apertures are inlaid with boldly colored shading devices image © XTU architects

interior viewimage © luc boegly

facade view image © renaud dessade

elevation views of the building shows the illusory quality of the architectonics image © renaude dessade

the  envelope is a compositional interplay of set back glazing and projective framing image © renaud dessade

the apartment block from the street image © renaude dessade

different light conditions beget a variety of tints and shades of the exteriorimage © renaud dessade

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project info:

architects: anouk legendre + nicolas desmazières, maxime le trionnaire, olivier busson, keeyong lee, charlotte brussieux,philippe stanfield-pinel, laurence pinelclient: opac de paris situation: urban districtprogram:70 dwellings + parking + shopscost:10,34 m-€ total floor area:7.124 mengineering: cet [engineers]materials: lacquered metal, concrete, green roofimage rendering: artefactory, XTU