BETWEEN THE RAILS
AND THE STOCK EXCHANGE

On the last plot of the ZAC Écoquartier d’Affaires Gare, the last hollow tooth on boulevard Louis-Blanc in La Roche-sur-Yon, this mixed-use project won the jury’s approval for its sensitive urban integration, the relevance of its programming strategy and the quality of its architectural and landscaping design.

Pinched between the railroad line and the breathtaking landscape of the planted courtyard of the Bourse du Travail, this long plot stretches over 100m and is the ideal setting for an atypical program whose ambition is to contribute to the activation of the district, already marked by the new landscaped multimodal interchange designed by the Fouquet agency, further along at the level of the station.

STRATEGY
PROGRAMMATIC

The mixed-use program includes offices, a free-standing ERP and a managed residence dedicated to sports. Harvey’s coliving concept for young professionals, dedicated to the martial arts, offers a variety of uses to create a new destination. Activated on a pedestrian scale by a restaurant and a dojo open to the public, it is set in the heart of a succession of landscaped areas: a private garden, an open planted courtyard and a new public square.

The project stands out for its double-sloped roof, a direct echo of the silhouette of the Bourse du Travail. The soft hues of the concrete architecture of the main naves are matched by a variety of styles, which, as we at ANMA are keen to design, provide architectural diversity within a coherent whole.

ARCHITECTURE
HOME

The buildings, slimmer than usual for offices (16 to 17m), offer double-exposed open-plan floors. They feature an elegant matrix on the first floor, fine spine modenations inverting the full/hollow ratios on the upper floors, and warm wooden balconies and posts structuring generous terraces and attics.

The buildings are of controlled scale (from R+3 to R+4+attic), with a system of steps and terraces to punctually reconnect with the existing suburban fabric on the boulevard. High up, 360° drop-off effects also give an appreciation of life in a “house on the roof” for residents on the top floors.

3 NEW
LANDSCAPED AREAS

The low-lying plot features a semi-buried parking strip on the railway side, with 88 parking spaces and 239 bicycle parking spaces, to meet the needs of the young athletes at the sports complex. This layout frees up large areas of open land for the integration of a system of infiltration ditches to collect water on the plot and enhance the 3 planted courtyards.

3 buildings for 3 landscaped areas, and 3 evolving landscape identities. However, the landscaping is designed to create homogenous lines from one space to the next: wooden terraces and decking, gardens on slabs and planted valleys, flexible flooring, grassed paving stones and planters…

ANEVOLVING PUBLIC SQUARE

The new public square is an area of the plot that is also intended to accommodate a planned footbridge over the railway line. It extends out from the restaurant’s large open terrace into a landscaped public space, with a petanque court, capable of hosting a foodtruck on a regular basis, or small one-off activities requiring the installation of stalls.

It is completed by a light wooden bicycle room, which can be dismantled if the footbridge is built, to provide a visual and acoustic buffer from the tracks.

CARE FORALL FACADES

On the rail side, contrary to what others might have argued, the facades have been designed with the utmost care, since this is the showcase presented to anyone arriving in La Roche by train. The same array of matrixes and modenatures, the same diversity of colors and even a system of terraces, high up, are used to free up uses with attractive views into the distance.

The linear parking area on the base, also visible from the railway, is 50% perforated, allowing ventilation and natural lighting in these sometimes dark and confined spaces.

PROJECT TEAM

DESIGN TEAM
Architect, landscape designer: ANMA
Structure: Ouest Structure
Environment, fluids, thermal, acoustics: Solab
Timber construction: Syface
VRD: A21
Economy: EXE
Reuse: R-Use
Waste recycling: Tri’n’Collect
Control: Socotec

COMPETITION
Alice Perugini, Gauthier Martin

STUDIES
Juliette Ducerisier, Bastien Lescure

LANDSCAPE
Emeline Brossard

TECHNICAL SHEET

STATUS On-going research

CONTRACTOR Giboire

CALENDAR
Competition: March 2023 – June 2024
Design: from July 2024
Scheduled handover: 2027

AREA
Site: 3,900, developed area: 9,100 m²
Offices: 5,400 m², residence: 3,700 m², gardens: 1,400 m².

VIEWS Air Studio

SEE MORE
Angers, Mixed-use development Gare Sud
Lorient, Phare Cosmao mixed-use development
Marseille, BE4 Plot