DE-POT
FR paris 2017 - competition
De-Pot is a new landmark!
De-Pot is a new point of interest for the city!
De-Pot is a container. It’s a container in its industrial meaning; it’s a container because it hosts sports and leisure activities.
De-Pot is a Sport Factory!
The project is located in a context of historical and architectonical interest: Fort of Villiers. The best way to preserve the past is recycle it for the present. The project wants to consider the act of recycling as a value: as heritage, Fort of Villiers is an act of recycling of the present; as “waste material”, the container is an act of recycling of the future. Fort de Villiers hides his relevance underground. The first step of the concept wants to start from the clear identity of the existing court: the void is taken as a trace in which the volume of the project can be wrapped around. Therefore, the new volume embraces the court, preserving the existent, valorising the Fort, and adding a new layer that gives new opportunities to the area.
The final shape is conceived as a modeling of the “courtyard building”: by pulling one side down and lifting the opposite one up, the volume is a continuous sloping green promenade, connected to the landscape and inspired by the character of the park.Subsequently, a new series of smaller volumes – created from the container unit – follows the old path of the galleries, generating a venue through which temporary events and leisure facilities can take place.
The constellation of elements reproduces the scheme of the sports facilities that currently surround the fort: the project therefore fits into a concentric scheme of activities, increasing its complexity and wealth. Fort de Villiers can be the beating heart of the neighbourhood, giving it new identity and vitality.
A new entrance is placed, in order to make accessibility clear, flexible and easy from both sides of the area. The new Fort de Villiers will be a center dedicated to culture and sports: the addition will host mainly the indoor sports activities – a swimming pool, multi-purpose spaces, accommodations due to temporary events, services like restaurants and bars – and a sloping garden placed on the roof.
The existing building can host the public and social sphere: meeting places, co-working, congresses and workshops can take place; thus the court becomes a meeting space, a square, a junction between old and new.
The existing park is totally preserved and improved by the new series of volumes that is more flexible, hosting mainly temporary events and services due to them. Everyday life can take advantage of the green lung, the Fort becomes a oasis that combines the benefits of nature, air, sport, and facilities; a place in which everybody will find a space that meets their needs.