Tivoli Clustered Housing

Programme

Flats, rooms for collective use and shared garden

This clustered housing project is exemplary in many respects, and demonstrates the gradual emergence of new design processes and new ways of living. Born out of collaboration between individuals and the public authorities, it has capitalized on this dual synergy. The initiative was taken by a group of residents who acquired a plot of land on a long lease, meaning that it remains the property of the public authorities through the institution CityDev. This acquisition method has made it possible to significantly reduce the price of the land. Tivoli is the result of an interesting balance between private and public on multiple levels: in terms of collaboration and finance, but also in the relationship between private and community spaces. Everyone has their own place to live, where they can flourish individually, while remaining open to others. The building includes a communal garden, nine apartments, the majority with three or four bedrooms, and two multi-purpose community spaces, one located on the ground floor and accessible to residents of the district, the other on the roof terrace offering panoramic views over the city. It avoids the classic tension between individualism and collectivism, offering a space that stimulates encounters while guaranteeing the privacy that everyone needs. An open plan concrete structure allows for flexible floor plans and facades. Every unit has three frontages and access via external passageways. The free partitioning of the dwellings offers a great deal of spatial flexibility to suit the needs and changing lives of families. The management of scale is also interesting; it creates a transition in the midst of a mixed urban fabric, including single-family houses and apartment buildings at the rear of the block. The use of simple, easily maintained materials reflects the need for sustainability. In this way, the architectural and urban project marks an encounter between a life philosophy and a mode of urban occupation that comes to life in a distinctive architectural language.

Anne Norman