In late September 2021, the ANA team went on a field trip to Paris. The theme was “Ensemble. The team was fully united in Paris for the first time since the second lockdown.

Guided by Guiding Architects Paris, we visited the Clichy-Batignolles neighbourhood. A former streetcar depot has been developed into a new urban area with innovative housing around the large Martin Luther King Park. The park serves as a place to relax, meet and for climate adaptation.

Surrounding the park are large residential blocks, each with its own identity and target group. The residential blocks offer a variety of social rental, private rental and owner-occupied housing. The target groups are also diverse: starters, families and older people. It was nice to see how all these residents used the central park. Older people sat reading on the benches among the greenery while the children played in one of the many playgrounds.

Lessons from the past: Résidence du pont-du-jour & Les Étoiles
In addition to contemporary architecture, there is much to learn from past projects in Paris. We visited Résidence du Point-du-Jour by architect Fernand Pouillon. This massive ensemble comprises 25 building volumes and several green squares and accommodates 2,260 homes. The housing blocks are set mainly as porches with two residences per elevator and staircase. Each house has a spacious outdoor space and multiple bedrooms. Significant to Pouillon was the improvement of post-war housing conditions and the affordability of the homes.

Les Étoiles
This was also the starting point for Les Étoiles, the 1970s centre of Ivry-Sûr-Seine, by Jean Renaudie and Renée Gailhoustet. The ensemble consists of many angular houses, with many public and semi-public spaces and terraces. It was striking how green the decks are; they contain a thick layer of soil so that flora can grow there, and the terraces feel like gardens. It was also interesting to see how Renaudie took families into account; many homes contain windows low to the ground so that children can also look outside.

Art and housing go hand-in-hand in Wijnegem
On returning to the Netherlands, we visited the particular transformation project on the Stokerijstraat in Wijnegem (BE). Here an old distillery has been converted into luxury housing blocks. The floor plans of the houses in the old silos are very impressive, as are the vast windows in the other residential buildings. Art plays a vital role in the project, there are several exhibition spaces, and the chapel is also worth visiting. The park-like layout of the area makes it an excellent green living environment.