Issy Cœur de ville, the new neighborhood project in Issy-les-Moulineaux

The concept adopted consists of constructing the buildings around a new urban park. Life is organized around the central space, entirely pedestrianized and abundantly planted with tall trees. This option has a double purpose, to satisfy the desire for contact with nature of residents and walkers but also to be part of the very history of the City of Issy-les-Moulineaux, like an extension.

It is a commune which has developed on a set of parks belonging to castles or religious communities which have partly disappeared, but of which there remain vast green spaces which constitute a plant framework in which the creation of this new park.

This contextuality is essential because this city has its own identity and the objective was to create a real urban graft.

While this territory presented itself as an enclave, the Coeur d'Issy project proposed to recreate the continuity of the city center. This is ensured by the extension of the adjacent streets through the site but also by the construction of built blocks of the same size and the same shape as the existing surrounding blocks. Finally, the relationship between the new park and the city is expressed by the creation of five urban gates which stage its accesses and offer points of view on the city (church steeples, remarkable trees, cultural heritage of the city... .).

The park is therefore the center of the district. The buildings that surround it have been cut into successive steps to open up this planted space to the sky and encourage its sunshine. The whole constitutes a veritable green valley.

This device makes it possible to provide housing with exterior extensions in the form of terraces shaded by pergolas. In the park, particular care is taken in the treatment of pathways, mineral and vegetated soils, the choice of tree species and ground covers.

This project is also characterized by its diversity: functional, generational and social diversity. It combines home ownership and social housing, organized into 5 blocks, with office buildings, spread over the site into 3 sets. The ground floors are occupied by shops, restaurants and brasseries which open onto the central park. There is also a school group (nursery and primary schools), a crèche, accommodation for the elderly, a digital creation workshop and cinemas.

A few years ago, such a program would have led to the construction of a base combining shopping center and facilities. Here, the exact opposite has been done. The park is a tree-lined place for walks that runs alongside all the facilities located at the foot of the building.

The office buildings are distributed on the site to avoid any zoning effect, which allows their users to enjoy the life and animation of the district.

This project also illustrates that urban density can be happy.

This project has more than 105.000 m2 of floor space on a 3 ha plot; it offers city dwellers a district that is both dense and airy through its architectural morphology and landscaping. Through games of breakthroughs, stepped construction, scale and levels, the vision remains aerial, offering a great architectural variety. Coeur d'Issy was imagined in the historical tradition of the city where green spaces and architectural quality have always been an issue.

Urban density for an operation located in the city center near two metro stations is a virtuous way to fight against urban sprawl and all its drawbacks.

Finally, this new district is exemplary in terms of respect for the environment and energy saving. The office buildings are positive energy buildings and the whole district is certified “WELL COMMUNITY”, it benefits from the BiodiverCity label, its operation is ensured at 70% by renewable energy.

Key figures

• Location: Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
• A new district: characterized by a functional, social and generational mix, composed of 8 buildings open to the city, around a pedestrian promenade of 7.250m2.
• Program :
  • 607 housing units divided into 5 buildings (40.909m2 floor area)
  • 3 office buildings (40.903m2 SDP)
  • 34 shops and restaurants including a cinema with 7 screens (17.332 m2 floor area)
  • Digital creation workshop (1578m2)
  • Public facilities: crèche, school, multipurpose room (6158m2 SDP)
  • 932 parking spaces including a public car park
  • 1 ha of vegetated surfaces
  • 110 tall trees,
  • 235 small trees
  • 3413m2 of land
  • 3247m2 of photovoltaic panels
• Area: 105.000m2 on a 3 ha plot
• Client: ALTAREA
• Calendar :
  • Competition 2016
  • 1st stone June 11, 2019
  • Delivery in October 2022
• Labels and certifications:
  • At the neighborhood level
    • BiodiverCity label
    • WELL Community Standard
  • Office buildings
    • NF HQE Tertiary buildings 2015
    • “Exceptional Passport”
    • BREEAM level Excellent standard 2016
    • WELL “Core and Shell” Silver level
    • BiodiverCity label ABCC level
    • BEPOS Effinergie label 2013
  • Shops
    • BREEAM “Shell and Core” level Excellent standard 2016
  • Housing
    • NF Habitat HEQ
• Speakers
  • Valode and Pistre Architects
  • Builders & Partners (Execution Project Management)
  • Raffia (Landscaping)
  • SETEC (Structure and Fluids)
  • EGIS (Fluids)
  • CEEF (Facades)
  • CEE (Economist)
  • Avel (Acoustician)
  • Concepto (Lighting designer)
  • Terao (Environmental Council)
  • Bureau Veritas (Control Office)
  • Bouygues Construction – General contractor