OFFICE 303

The industrial site of the Starlette coal-processing plant, near the port of Strasbourg on the Rhine River, is undergoing urban transformation. In the midst of this new development, the low-carbon housing complex is a single U-shaped building comprising a total of 148 apartments. The volume gradually steps up from the lowest side facing the Vauban canal. Each stepped level forms an accessible common roof garden with greenhouses. The 45-degree cuts in the corners make a multidirectional facade and allow uninterrupted views towards the canal and its bridges. The structural grid superimposed onto the red brick facade evokes the site’s industrial past, but also the vernacular architecture and timber-framed houses of Alsace. The apartments are organised around multiple cores, minimising residual corridor space. Linear balconies and generous common areas serve as an extension of the private apartments: besides the shared roof gardens, there are commercial spaces, a kindergarten, a bike storage and a workshop. On the ground floor, the building is raised on brick pilotis, integrating the block into its surroundings as the densely planted terrain slopes towards the canal.