The Digital Fort

Issy-les-Moulineaux, France

Reconversion of the military fort into a new district including : a large park, 1200 dwellings, 1520 parking lots, two schools, the extension of La Paix secondary school, Médicis home automation villa, the extension of the stadium with a gymnasium and child care facilities.

The layout of the digital fort is set on the basis of various reasons. It is composed of spatial layers which combine and produce a complex plan that supports the district’s activities. This structure will make it easier for changes to come. The pentagon-shaped structure of the Fort was not visible, as it was drowned out in the surrounding detached house district. The project reveals this historical footprint, as it features housing buildings all along the bastion line. These buildings act as mediators between the shapes of the past and the new district.

The Belvedere plaza at the centre of the Fort is lined with a large building whose parabola-shaped layout opens onto Paris. Its dynamical and symbolic shape, opposed to the closed geometry
of the Fort, hosts the Virtual Academy. The compound is designed as an orchard, punctuated with villa-shaped buildings. Their soft shapes create comfortable and protected living spaces. Facades are designed as filters between outside and inside areas, while there are several possible apartment layouts. All around the Fort, the reconstructed moats and fortification walls are an invitation to stroll on the curtain walls, which offer beautiful views onto the garden and the city. Low-height buildings make the transition with the surrounding detached house area.

Customer:Ville d'Issy-les-Moulineaux
Team:Architecturestudio, SEMARI, Bouygues Immobilier, Kaufman & Broad Meunier, Elige, SNI, Meristème
Program:Housing buildings
Year:2015
Surface:emprise 12,5 Ha, surface 120 000 m²
Cost:6 300 000 €
Status:2011
Label:Ecoquartier Prize, 2011 - Urban Requalification, Ecological and Digital Innovation category