2011- Yamakasi _ Stains France

 
Program Urban study and architectural development : Climbing centre, offices, multimodal transports platform and housings
Place Stains, France
Client Europan 11
Team Eric Cassar, Ahmed Najjar, Yang Wu

General Principales To preserve nature, beyond a «multimodal»  platform (train, subway, bus), Yamakasi is an attractive program for the Ile-de-France. It includes a huge climbing centre in front of the La Courneuve parc where ways and climbing walls are part of the building envelope. Next to it, we create an housing area with low energy consumption where each apartment is similar to a individual house.

 

Preserving the existing nature, we wanted to create links in order to promote exchanges and openings. More, a climbing center between town and nature represents a great challenging area for sportsmen.

La lentille

The Lentille is a «new Island» with infinite footbridges. We build it as a dig «relief» drawn essentially with its voids.

This relief considers all the restrictions linked to the substructures. It is organized around its center : a rift at the intersection of all the transportation. This rift, shaped in a reverse cone give birth to a huge atrium. From the verticals and horizontals spreads, appears in snatches, all the networks crossing several levels : bus, train, subway, cycle lane, and of course pedestrian services. This rift, is the beginning of a pedestrian and cyclist radiance towards the park and all the city area.

The climbing walls are the frontal of the building, the nature interferes with them. Managed by professionals, many tracks, from the easiest to the hardest, are accessible for climbing the city up to the limit of the park. The mountain build with its sides to climb, is the highest building, the entry sign of the city.

Long lasting, the «lentille» is a «cell» which connects not only to the passing areas but especially an island. A place to stay. A destination place. An original open door for Stains to become an main commune of a Grand Paris.

Batère’s District- Wood garden Houses

In Batère, beside the conception of 132 labor gardens, we have created a housing which promotes and gives priority to the natural ground. It lives with the rhythm of the garden. Our project extend the green material by integrating housing with outside space.