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Avenue de Saint-Ouen, in the heart of Paris’s 17th arrondissement, is characterised by a heterogeneous urban landscape. At no. 11, the project explores the potential of refurbishing and extending upwards on the existing buildings rather than opting for tabula rasa, extending the life of the structure and the building itself.

The new volumes align with the neighbouring façades. On the street side, the top floor is set slightly back to re-establish the common alignment and refine the silhouette along the avenue. On the courtyard side, the buildings lean against the plot boundaries, locally exceeding the existing heights at the rear of the site in order to accommodate the new dwellings.

The project prioritises the use of bio-based and recycled materials: the rooftop extension is built in timber frame with timber floor slabs, limiting additional loads on the existing structure. To give the whole ensemble a unified appearance, the existing façades are reclad with a single skin of recycled aluminium, shared with the new rooftop volumes. The pattern of perforation and the rhythm of the aluminium cassette panels vary between old and new, allowing the transformed volumes to remain legible while maintaining a continuous reading of the overall scheme.

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