CITY Dijon
COUNTRY France
The Antipodes I scheme is a linear configuration consisting of almost identical linear units that are aligned on alternate sides of a circulation spine. At the ends, there are paired linear volumes to give a double-loaded corridor. The linear units are of in-situ, black stained, reinforced concrete. On one side, the in-situ cast structure of the linear unit is closed by prefabricated concrete panels, whose lighter colour corresponds to the aluminium frames and glass surfaces of the inserted windows. On the opposite side of the linear units, an external wall clad with dark brown plywood is set back, thereby creating a wide balcony, a “Laubengang”, that integrates the linear units.
Herzog & de Meuron, 1994
Set within the second growth ring of the city of Dijon, the campus at the University of Burgundy has been reorganized under a joint collaboration between the studio and Rémy Zaugg. A new thoroughfare known as ‘Twenty First Century Avenue’ structures the complex and links complementary uses for the student community services such as residencies, institutes, shops and sports facilities. The Antipodes I complex is set beside this urban axis, integrated into the succession that alternates built-up zones and green areas, and marks the transition from the campus to the surrounding natural areas.
In order to accommodate the 355 apartments required by the brief, a block was designed – 300 metres in length – which could be grouped flexibly in response to the different urban requirements. This basic unit has a very broad open corridor with the dwellings attached to one side, their dimensions ranging from 18 square metres for individual apartments to 99 square metres for the collective housing model which is shared by 6 students. The three metre wide gallery forms a relational and meeting space that improves and extends the scant student habitat in the form of a semi-covered terrace. The initial idea of linking interior and exterior by means of transparent garage doors ultimately proved impossible, but the bakelised wooden panels which now separate the apartments from the corridor add a feeling of furniture to the space, turning the area into a sort of living room, a domestic focal point.
This covered passage is also a north-south feature that runs parallel to the street and acts as a backbone for the whole unit. The room packages alternate in their attachment to one side of the passageway and the other, thus defining a series of open courtyards on the facade. On the street side of the building, the setbacks group the letterboxes and students’ bicycle racks behind a low wall, while the opposite side opens unhindered onto the landscaped garden. The contrast between the terse dormitory elevations and the sculptural effect of the sills on the corridor frontages visually reduces the length of the operation. The staircases that break the headwall and the staggered blocks that adapt to the terrain also contribute to this fragmentation, but without relinquishing the cohesion guaranteed by the differently toned horizontal concrete belts that bind the unit together.