Fulton Project in Paris. Social housing units, shops, and the landscaped heart of the island

The Fulton Project is part of the development of the Zones d'Aménagements Concerté (ZAC) in Paris and includes 87 units of social housing, 2 shops on the ground floor, a new design for the landscaped heart of the island, and an underground parking lot in Quai d'Austerlitz, in the 13th arrondissement

The architects from AGENCE © BERNARD BUHLER approach the project by addressing both the challenge of giving Fulton, located on the banks of the Seine, a strong and impactful personality, as well as integrating all the constraints that will ensure the relevance and coherence of the future ZAC as a whole. Comprising a base that supports two distinct buildings in a wide urban rift of up to 15 meters, the project echoes its surrounding environment on different scales

The lower part of the residential building ensures a lively connection to Quai d'Austerlitz, thanks to the presence of a large projecting shop window. The architectural elevation gives the impression that the two emerging volumes are sculpted by a series of erosions. Carved deeply, the volumes reveal a brilliant and vibrant materiality of glass: the balustrades of the balconies, made of dichroic glass, reflect certain colors and allow others to pass through

Beyond aesthetic resolutions, the challenge of the project was to give the unbuilt space the maximum extension to offer the most generous relationship between the Seine and the heart of the site. The project is part of a rich urban development plan where buildings are exposed in diagonal views, avoiding direct vis-à-vis. The folded forms of Fulton continuously redirect the view, opening up to the most beautiful perspectives of the Seine