Existing view from the Viaduc Saint-Jacques onto the Muraille de Chine - photograph by Alexandre Chemetoff
A new perspective from the Viaduc Saint-Jacques onto the Saint-Jacques neighbourhood - rendered by Laurent Laroche
The Genesis of the project is the enactment of the demolition of what is known as the Great Wall of China, in Clermont-Ferrand. This large social housing building from the early 1960s that separates the historic centre from its newer and poorer neighbourhood of SaintJacques will be removed, but what will be uncovered behind it? What will come in its place? Where will the building’s inhabitants go?
The project began with the proposal of a 5-hectare park system that goes from the Lecoq garden to the hospital centre; to link the two distinct parts of the city, this green trajectory invites new soft modes of transportation, improving the use of the tram and creating a link to the railway thereby connecting this newly opened neighbourhood to the rest of its region. Once the Great Wall of China will be demolished, the other large complexes that were hidden from the skyline until now, will be revealed. On the plateau of Saint-Jacques, two scales of construction can be observed: the large complexes and the blocks of houses and small buildings. Inspired by this mix of heights and uses, new small-scale housing elements are placed on the edge of the plateau, in order to reconstruct a park front and redraw a composed skyline. In addition, the use of small and medium-sized scales allows for numerous housing buildings, individual houses, and store units to be well integrated into the existing fabric, throughout the project (see the project plan).
One of three collaborators - responsible for historical and typological studies and participated in the numerous exchanges during the competition as well as in the formalization of the master plan.
Existing Site Plan
Project Site Plan
A different kind of square: On the Henri Dunant square, a hall shelters travellers. There are kiosks where you can drink a coffee or buy a newspaper. Fairs and shows will be held there.
Sections throughout the park system
Plan and perspective of the park area
Plan and perspective of the Henri Dunant square area
Isometric diagrams of the different areas of intervention through the Saint-Jacques neighbourhood
