Mixed use: Development features vertical collage

The Urban Collage project features typical townhouses at the base, a 50s-style housing block in the middle, and single-family, suburban homes on the roof. ‘We organised them as archetypes to be read from bottom to top,’ says François.

The development provides new space for shops, 114 housing units and parking. It also includes stairways that provide separate access to each townhouse, and meets high standards of energy efficiency.

It is interesting to see the ramshackle, thrifty aesthetics of Symbiotic Architecture showing up unexpectedly in purpose-built structures.