On one hand, an improbable stacking of boxes; on the other, a triangulated facade. Both the front and the rear sides of this student residence containing 192 small apartments are defined by the almost impossible geometry of the lot it stands on, a band 11 meters wide and 200 meters long, flanked by Parc de la Villette and a new tram line.

The markedly linear arrangement of the complex has its advantages. The bay can be optimized and indoor traffic is efficiently taken care of through a back corridor that doubles as a gathering space and also connects the building’s circulation cores to all the living units. The apartment units – all of them floor-through – benefit from natural light and cross ventilation; two bioclimatic strategies that can be combined with other energy-efficient measures, such as a rigorous insulation 20 centimeters thick and a double-flow air conditioning system that takes advantage of all residual heat.

The polarity created by the double orientation of this eleven-story linear block is expressed in the geometry and the materials of each facade: the east side is like a fragmented and random combination of open wooden volumes, whereas the west side of the building, which faces La Villette park and the Eiffel Tower beyond, comes across as a permeable skin clad with metal mesh.