Covent Garden consists of several small residences in the historic center of Lille. These residences develop generous and spacious apartments, duplexes, and also houses on the roof.

Sustainable development approach of the project owner

Nacarat has systematized eco-design on all its achievements since 2012. The idea is to maximize the performance of sustainable development, to service on territory, as much as possible. For Covent Garden, the idea was, once again not customary, more about the intrinsic quality of the site rather than the technical performance "engineering". Sustainable development innovations, in addition to mandatory RT2012, focused on biodiversity shelter, in partnership with the LPO Nord, with the creation of specific nest boxes and also accessibility with vivalib housing for the social donor.

Architectural description

Based on the analyzes of the program and the context, while adapting itself to the discourses of the current problems of living together, the presented project breaks down into bands, directly induced morphology of the site's history and the street. Indeed, according to the Napoleonic cadastre of 1881, a parcellary in strip was already drawn perpendicularly to the street Leon Gambetta. This typical morphology of the site is revealed by the five bands composing the site: three built bands are implanted and sequenced by two new breakthroughs created from the rue Léon Gambetta. The first is a pedestrian alley, which promotes penetration into the site, leading further into the island, to the gym at the back of the stage. The second, located between the building at the corner of Gambetta / Antin streets and the central strip, is visual: from Gambetta street, you can see the white birch garden in the heart of the site. 77 dwellings make up these bands, including 12 intermediate dwellings, 54 collective dwellings and 11 collective dwellings in the rehabilitated building at the corner of Gambetta / Antin streets. Business premises are located on the ground floor of rue Léon Gambetta, along the street. The site then becomes a link in the commercial chain. Transverse porosities are proposed in rue d'Antin and rue de la Tranquilité towards the interior of the islet. This porous character favors the appropriation of the site by the local residents. The project was also designed to reveal these bands from the rue Léon Gambetta. The proposal builds on and reinforces the character of the street and resumes the alternation of materials and colors of the latter. The use of three different brick assemblages reveal the built-up bands: elongated bricks, tight joints; 3D bricks; Brick of the building at the corner of the Rue d'Antin. To reveal these volumes, another materiality is introduced. White perforated metal panels connect the buildings. As a nod to the emblematic building of the district, the perforations take again the brick patterns that can be seen on the market halls of Wazemmes.