A facade with silvery spangle: ST® steel panels for a nursery & social housing project in Paris

Detailed information

The aim of this project was to integrate the new building into the existing green spaces in order to establish a certain continuity with its surroundings of green terraces and gardens with tall trees. The building offers a nursery school on its ground floor and 12 social housing units on the upper levels. It is conceived like a box, with its ground floor sliding forward on the plot, opening up a courtyard for the nursery at the back of the building. Its location at the end of the street next to a park also allows for the creation of a more protected forecourt for the children and enables the access to the nearby square.

Realised entirely in a steel structure, the complex offers maximum flexibility for its internal organisation.

The nursery on the ground floor offers a net surface of 300 m2 for 30 children. Its glazed front facade is covered by a protective filter creating the impression of cocoon-like fibre.

The residential part of the building, placed on top of the nursery school, creates a single, homogeneous volume thanks to its shape and facade. With a total surface of 1000 m2, the 12 apartments vary in size and organisation, offering 1 to 3 bedrooms with green terraces. Thanks to the reduced common spaces, the size of the apartments could be optimised. Each apartment has windows towards the south, east, and west offering views over the surrounding green spaces.

Sparkling, metallic coated steel cladding panels by ArcelorMittal

The facade of the residential part of the building is made of steel panels. Both siding panels and shutters are made of ST® 440 steel panels with Kristal® coating supplied by ArcelorMittal. The panels are assembled with a hollow joint of 10 mm. In order to contrast them with the siding panels, the shutters have linear perforations that let some light through even when they are closed.

The metallic coating Kristal®, an aluminium-zinc alloy that guarantees excellent corrosion resistance, is famous for its aesthetic qualities: its metallic spangle catches the sunlight and thanks to its reflectivity, the building reflects the colours of its surroundings.