Rotterdam-based architecture and urban design firm MVRDV has completed work along the Quai de Queyries in Bordeaux's Bastide Niel district, with three striking buildings that hide a green oasis within.
From the outside, La Vallée Verte looks like three neatly placed housing blocks in a challenging triangular plot. The angles at which the rooflines have been cut ensure that no one building casts a shadow onto the other, giving each one the maximum sun exposure. The heart of the plot is another story entirely.
At the center is a courtyard that, if you were to stand in the middle, you would see three blocks that are hollowed out to create a lush outdoor space that’s covered with small trees, shrubs, and a variety of plants, from the bottom to the top. The apartments face inwards and have full-height openings onto the private loggias, each lined with planters of different sizes.
The architects wanted to recreate the feel of a natural valley. That’s why each floor has different plant species that mirror a diverse, natural ecosystem.
All this greenery requires maintenance, though. So in a bit of creative thinking here, each loggia has a door on the shared wall that’s shaped like a person wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Aesthetically, it’s on the nose, but it comically communicates that it will be used by gardeners to move from one loggia to the next to tend the plants.
According to Winy Maas, the founding partner of MVRDV: "The green courtyard is like a secret world, almost separate from the rest of the neighborhood; being there becomes a moment shared between the visitors and the residents."
La Vallée Verte’s philosophy differs from that of other greenery-packed residential projects like Wonderwoods Vertical Forest in Utrecht, the Netherlands – which hosts 360 trees and 50,000 plants of different native species. It’s something the whole city can enjoy looking at, but for La Vallée Verte, you have to step inside to fully appreciate it.
An example of a project that comes close to what the La Vallée Verte has achieved is One River North in Denver, Colorado, USA. It has an outdoor-like area shaped like a canyon that’s carved into the building and filled with plants. Both are easily accessible to residents but hidden from the street.
The three building blocks of La Vallée Verte cover a total of 5,250 sq m (56,511 sq ft) and have 70 apartments combined. The project is meant to attract residents from all walks of life, whether someone lives alone or has a family. One of the apartment blocks has a daycare center on the ground floor, with its very own outdoor space tucked into the courtyard.
Since the site sits on the bank of the Garonne River, which is prone to flooding, the ground-floor apartments are raised to street level so that water can pass beneath rather than through people’s homes. Furthermore, the parking area is in a nearby structure (also situated above street level).
La Vallée Verte is one of 144 plots within the Bastide Niel Masterplan. This is MVRDV’s plan to redevelop a former industrial area and military barracks. It outlines everything architects must follow to design buildings for the neighborhood, whether they're from France or international.
The building ticks a long list of sustainability boxes, as outlined in the masterplan. For instance, it connects to a shared district heating system, gets part of its electricity from rooftop solar panels, and is built on a porous surface that soaks up rainwater rather than sending it straight into the drains.
Source: MVRDV
