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Jean Nouvel
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-Workshop result: The Metropole, Jean Nouvel and The Walled city
- Analysis of Housing in Nimes (Jean Nouvel)
Analysis of a building complex in Saint Ouen, Paris designed by Jean Nouvel. To make a real metropolitan context we placed extra program between the two housing blocks. To enable light to go into the existing houses, we placed a narrow, transparent volume.
To make a metropolitan condition we added much more program and infrastructure.
There is a underground park divided from infrastructure, running through
the whole city. In a transparent tube, a metro is drawn out of the dark,
enjoying the light and the view in the park.
Our analysis of metropolitan area's focussed on The Walled City in
Kowloon, Hong Kong. The image shows the infrastructure on the ground floor
of the Walled City.
Nemausus
Analysis of the notorious housing project of Jean Nouvel in Nimes (France)
The concept
For the same prize more surface area was the aim of Jean Nouvel. He realized 2 building volumes for the normal budget, but because the amount of rent is based on the amount of surface the inhabitants have to pay more rent. There is 55 % more space but the houses are also 52 % more expansive. The building company saved money, not the people who live in it.
Profile of the inhabitants
The people in Nemausus are young. 80 % is younger then 35 year. The
oldest is 51 year old.
20 % = jobless
3 % = workers
20 % = employees
31 % = middle / well educated
19 % = students
7 % = other
The inhabitants can be divided in 3 groups based on income and preferences
A. 30% of the inhabitants have a low income,
(< FR 4500, fl. 1500,-) many used to live with their parents. They had
to move (were forced to move) because of a personal or professional change.
They are pragmatic and don't care to much about the architecture. They
don't consider the houses as to comfortable. For this group of people is
Nemausus not social housing because of aspects of offices, fabric and the
rent is to high. They hope to move on after a few months.
B. 40 % of the inhabitants came there
by opportunity. Their income (FR 4500 – 5500, fl. 1500 – 1833,-) is enough
to let them move further but they chose for Nemausus. They usually lived
in a free-standing house. For them this is a way of making the quality
housing better. They like the mix of surprise, seduction and big space.
The houses and the environment don't look like low rate.
C. 30 % are non-social inhabitants, they
just came there for their cultural choice. They like to live in architecture
and the economy is not important. They chose for innovative architecture.
people living in Nemausus say:
| I like it because; | I don't like it because; |
| - space is luxurious | - the concrete walls (not finished) |
| - the program is functional | - the art on the walls looks like graffiti |
| - big terraces | - the concrete walls are dirty |
| - the apartments are big | - the provocation of the architect is to much |
| - there is enough light | - no lockers outside the houses |
| - good isolated | - no total darkness in a house |
| - totally open façade |
There is a policy for the kind of people that are going to live in Nemausus. The houses in Mont Pellier of Ricardo Bofill proved to be very popular. Although intended as low rent houses they got sold to people.
In the sixties people moved from the countryside to the low rent houses in the cities. These low rent houses were more luxuries then the country houses. Low rent was popular.
Jean Nouvel offers with Nemausus again a popular low rent house. He brings things that are not in the standard market houses. For example:
- terraces 2 meters wide for eating, extending the dining / living room and sun-bathing
- special light in the houses
- 15 m2 of bathroom with windows
- 5 meters high rooms
20 % of the inhabitants don't have funds (subsidies) they could move to a cheaper place but they don't.
costs
Some financial data of this project in Nimes has been compared with
the earlier work of Nouvel in Paris. The Nemausus project
| Nemausus | Saint Ouen | |
| construction | FR 36.560.000 (fl. 12,2 mlj.) | FR 15.880.487 (fl. 5,293 mln) |
| houses | 114 | 48 |
| habitable space | 10.400 m2 | 4.895 m2 |
| average | 91m2 / house | 102 m2 / house |
| prize / m2 | fl. 1.172,-/m2 | fl. 1.081,-/m2 |
| average house costs | fl. 106.652,- | fl. 110.262,- |
facts
The Nemausus project turned out to be FR 1,5 mln (fl. 500.000,-) over budget. This happened because the industrialized balcony-fences had to be adjusted for attaching to the main construction.
The doors on the sun side of the house are 9,4 % of the total building prize. People are very enthusiastic about these extensions of the house.
The red/white coloured signals cost 0,8 % of the total building prize. Some people find the industrial signals overdone.
Politics
Nouvel and the mayor of Nimes knew each other from the competition
in the centre of the city. Norman Foster won the prize to build the town
hall but Nouvel was the would-be-winner.
The mayor was very keen to do a project with Nouvel. He gave him the
‘carte blanche’
Jean Nouvel made a call to the office of Frank Gehry and asked Jean-Marc
Ibos to work for him, which he did.
The building companies were afraid of this extraordinary project and
said that they could only build it for a very high prize. The architects
and the building companies talked for 15 days in order to make an agreement
about the prize.
Source
CD-rom of AMC (le Moniteur 1985-95)
Architecure de Aujourdhui
Module A2
mentor: Kamiel
Klaasse