Les meridiennes de St Jean – La Ciotat

LES MERIDIENNES DE SAINT JEAN

LA CIOTAT

CONTRACTING AUTHORITY: SUD GESTION 

MISSION:  COMPLETE MISSION + OPC

BE PARTNERS: SEE

PHASE:  DELIVERED 2013

This development’s challenge was to integrate a peri-urban environment made of small apartments and villas. The long plot is on a slight slope towards the south and the sea. Once again, we had to generate density on the site to save space that is so precious in the region, to reduce rampant urbanisation and build the town on the existing town. This requires painstaking work in terms of integration and innovation.

The buildings’ position maximises their orientation south, facing the sea. We created small, low builds to blend in with the villas with a similar volume to the surrounding homes.

The contemporary architectural style draws on the Provençal traditions in its colours and materials but also boldly declares its modern elegance. Vertical windows, large patios, pale renders, vertical sequences.

The development’s planted areas were a key focus (communal garden, play areas, top-quality landscaping).

THE DETAIL

Imitation teak “boat deck” cladding with black horizontal joints cover some wall sections. The development is resolutely contemporary, designed in an uncluttered and elegant style, a reference here to the sea and the industrial past of the port of La Ciotat.