It takes a village

TEAM PORTRAIT

INTERVIEW
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1. How do you define the main issues of your project in relation with the theme “Re-sourcing”? Re-sourcing thanks to nature, to social dynamics, to new materiality? In which way do you think your project can contribute to an ecological and/or social evolution? And in which way do you think your project can be called a “regenerative project”?
The title It Takes a Village reflects our re-sourcing approach. Our project is rooted in the singular urbanity of a village embedded within “Grand Paris”, shaped by strong social, architectural, and urban identities. Isolated from the rest of Romainville, this community has developed through inhabitants’ freedom of action and self-organization. By placing the inhabitants’ collective at the center of decision-making, we seek continuity rather than renewal, making this social fabric the driving force of the neighborhood’s future.

2. How did the issues of your design and the questions raised by the site mutation meet?
Facing the land and speculative pressure of the Parisian metropolis, the Ormes village can integrate into “Grand Paris” without losing its identity by relying on the inhabitants’ collective, its tradition of self-management, and a gradual rise in skills. Our approach creates a relay between public institutions, the collective, and individual residents, who become both designers and builders. At the scale of the urban block, housing cooperatives allow shared ownership and collective decision-making, making private property adaptable to changing life trajectories. Having closely observed the development of “Grand Paris” since 2012, we see in Ormes the opportunity to propose an alternative to standardized urban renewal and to preserve the neighborhood’s unique character.

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