A Project to Reweave Connections

The primary aim of the L.A.B.S. project is to restore conditions for dialogue between neighborhoods that have long been divided, placing residents at the heart of the transformation process. The real “resources” of the site are primarily human: those who live here. Encouraging the emergence of productive activities first requires weaving new local ties.

A Landscape Reweaving at the Neighborhood Scale

The project undertakes an urban reweaving effort from rue Louis Aubin towards impasse des Oseraies. This network takes the form of “communicating landscape strips,” inspired by former agricultural strips, creating a continuous urban fabric of low to medium density. These strips act as interfaces between housing, production sites, workshops, shared spaces, and gardens.
This vocabulary of alleys, paths, small squares, and streams forms a genuine productive village, whose future users will participate in its design.

A Project Rooted in History and Topography

Rather than wiping the slate clean, the project builds upon the site’s history. Former agricultural strips structure the layout. The unique topography, inherited from the dismantling of the A186 motorway, becomes a landscape in its own right, valued as a base for a new landscape-neighborhood.
Inspired by the meanders and layering of the existing site, the project implements a system of multi-level public spaces: an active and productive “above-below,” both permeable and inhabited.

A Method Based on Field Investigation

L.A.B.S. relies on a situated project method nourished by field surveys with residents, historical map analysis, and large-scale models. This immersive approach allows a refined understanding of the site’s challenges and the construction of a sensitive and shared response.

A Four-Stage Timeline

To adapt to the long timeframe of urban projects, L.A.B.S. proposes a progressive implementation in four phases.
Phase 1:
Renaturation of the site and enhancement of existing topography as the territory’s memory.
Phase 2:
Establishment of a light soil grid revealing former agricultural strips. Construction of the “Guinguette,” an open modular structure serving as a meeting and consultation space.
Phase 3:
Mitigation of A3 motorway nuisances via a landscape-building integrating a logistics program and a silo parking. Installation of a sports facility on the park edge.
Phase 4:
Construction of the first mixed-use buildings resulting from consultation phases with residents, initiating a process of urban co-production.