Analyzing unit plans and variation in interiorities

Each unit of the Danielle Casanova, when studied as an individual block has a different story to tell. The underlying grid that was once present in the floor-plan suddenly disappears, turning it into a complex puzzle that does not seem to have any order or logic. As Renaudie’s drawings seek to marry imagination with practicality, the design investigates the complexity of urban life while introducing a subtle hint of some kind of order, unnoticed by the habitants, but experienced in the way the spaces witness the performance of daily life itself. When read in coherence with each other, the internal intricacies start making sense in a way that they function in unison with immediate units.

Using sketching as the main driver to imitate evolution, one can trace the lines along which each of the spaces came into being from the grid that almost becomes nonexistent as it transforms itself into angular spatial nodes. However, the unique identities and complexity of forms were achieved and made a reality by going over budget by almost 70 percent

One of the reduced floorplates of the upper levels of Danielle Casanova houses five units that span in three directions with most of their service areas structured around each other that are incorporated in such a way that can be read together as dense clusters closer to the circulation path, that transform into bigger spaces of living along the outer edges of the building, eventually interacting with the terraces that blur the boundaries between functions.

Introduction

Evolution

Reduced floorplates of upper levels of Casanova , building’s form derived from the varied ratio of built and open spaces

Architectural Association

Individual units of Danielle Casanova – mixed pieces of a puzzle that derive their meaning as a floorplate when stitched together, combining functions, form and structure together. The acute angles of the units giving us an idea of the structural and formal interdependency of the block on its neighbor.

The spaces interlock in each other in such a way that the service areas do not take up more space than which is absolutely necessary. Designing with a goal of giving the user a freedom that is directed by the structural allocation of spaces and their experiential qualities, not segregated by the hierarchy of function. One unit might have a kitchen that laterally looks onto the balcony outside , a part of which accommodates the dining space that also spills over in the balcony area. Living spaces that span throughout the diagonal of the house that almost utilizes the longest possible dimension in a given unit. There is complexity in the way one unit is woven together with the others. Open spaces and the variation in the internal layouts is a result of treating the restrictions presented by the structure in a way that expands the visual connectivity of spaces, breaking lines that could overpower and become passages.

Analyzing the third floor of the Danielle Casanova in a purely artistic manner, without looking at the internal spaces , the plan can be divided into four main parts structured around four main cores that have wing-like spaces attached to them, giving a sense that they want to be set free from the core, aiming in different directions. The peripheral edges of the building are a combination of internal spaces with punctures or more commonly, attached terraces that venture out into the space , often having a direct relationship to its adjoining terrace. Each shape of the unit seems like a part of a larger puzzle, like a cell giving birth to another one upon which it is dependent on performing its inner functions. The manner in which these indoor and outdoor spaces are stitched together gives a unique identity to each of the units. The building relates to the structure of a city as an organism with that of the life within the building in a way that the building itself becomes like an organ of the city. The way a city inhabits an infinite amount of ever-changing functions in itself, so does the building and the spaces within each unit.

Le-Liegat was another cluster in the bigger masterplan of Ivry, that was designed after the Danielle Casanova, along a similar ideology except it explored the form based on a geometry derived from a hexagon, multiplying itself through more orthogonal spaces that give rise to more freedom of interstitial spaces. The overlapping units inhabit multiple individual homes that are not directly defined by the forms generated through the rectangles but by embracing the variations in typology and freedom of space that result in spaces that are not interdependent in terms of services and structure, and encompass living and sleeping units that have more coherence in the way the internal furniture sits within the space.

The complexity of this design does not just focus on the space each house occupies, but also the negative space created by it as well. The evolution of a hexagon into a cluster is facilitated by rectangles protruding from each side of the hexagon that further connect themselves through triangles. However, the units do not correspond to the spaces formed through these multiplicities, but are further interlinked through slicing the rectangles and connecting vertices to the midpoint of the length of the rectangle The final output, a replication of this form, generates a rhythm that almost replicated the growth of a living organism, a cell of a human body with a nucleus of a core that again relates to the circular core in Danielle Casanova.

The internal circulation passages are a result of joining lines that break and continue in different directions, creating a unique experience for the user in a mundane space that has no spatial importance given otherwise. Clusters of these units grasp a myriad of elements that compound into an organic whole.

The Le-Liegat redefines the way in which Danielle Casanova encompasses an abstract quality of spaces generated through an underlay of a grid, while avoiding sharp angles that create complications, more than the complexity and delves instead into re-generating forms that have a similar sense of freedom as well as an orderliness that lets no space go under-utilised.

The spectrum of spaces generated through this constellation of forms was a framework and also a guiding factor in synthesizing the commercial (public) and private scales. The domestic spaces have a similar quality that presses upon the experience of the space than the segregation of formal functions. It inhabits paradoxes, heavy masses and light spaces, complexity of internal units and simplicity with which they are derived, recombining leftover areas to generate a character to the communal spaces in the urban environment.

Overlapping morphologies

Le-Liegat Ivry-sur-Seine 1982 Collection FRAC Centre

Connection of core to different unit blocks, clusters of living

Le-Liegat Ivry-sur-Seine 1982 Collection FRAC Centre

The two cases, Danielle Casanova and Le-Liegat, portray a progressive and evolutionary approach in overcoming the challenges and drawbacks of one experiential form over the other, while opening up a broad spectrum of possible geometric articulations in housing form. Both the buildings, along with the rest as a part of the grand masterplan of Ivry, with their undeniable originality and innovation, showcase a level of risk taking in the overall field of public housing that was only possible because of the willingness of the government to take the plunge with something totally unconventional, a drift from the Grand ensembles, an opportunity for the architects to research and rediscover what a space can do, and what it can be. The socio-economical and political scenario of that time was in favor for a change in how public housing was dealt with.

However, the idea of designing a space that has the potential to be utilized in the most improbable and indeterminate way, is something that is still relevant, and even one of the needs of the hour, today. The train of thought that Renaudie started years ago, finds itself to be useful in more than one way in re-thinking ways in which public housing or even housing in general is approached in present times. Aworld in which cities are changing at a pace like never before, that demand buildings and spaces that can accommodate cross-disciplinary functions as well as being ingenious, the drawings and science behind the designs of Renaudie help us subvert from the standard prototypes that are evolved as a result of purely singular functional spaces.Also, one of the key learnings from the works of Jean Renaudie, is to fearlessly explore and unearth the simplicity behind the complex geometries and intricacies of form, breaking the spatial restrictions that create mass mundane spaces when it comes to public housing.

There are also challenges in terms of politics, economy and the social construct that would make it difficult to put the learnings to direct use, but the lasting design principles about being more attentive towards the unsaid needs of the inhabitants, embracing the unknown desires of the future living, and recreating a structural base to carve spaces that can be given multiple meanings and relationships by and with the user, remain strong drivers of change in the housing industry.