The requalification of this plot in Peseux, Switzerland, conducted by NOMOS, creates a small oasis in an otherwise bland environment.

The piece of land on which the project sits had almost no value. Unable to find qualities in the existing context, the objective of the architects was to build one.

No view and little clearance, along a road with heavy traffic, surrounded on both sides by mediocre buildings.

Before reflecting on the typologies of the apartments, the first intervention consisted in creating a proper environment. The location of the building allowed to clear a maximum of ground to the west for trees to be planted.

Which will become the vis-à-vis of future tenants.

A staircase and passageway system was developed on the east facade. Thus, a strong dichotomy was established between the two main facades, based on their orientation and use.

In order to create distance between neighbours, allowing all the units to be distributed from the outside.

The apartments’ staggered arrangement reinforces the uniqueness and privacy of each accommodation, made possible by the creation of duplexes, inverted from floor to floor.

The 14 apartments offer residents the qualities inherent to traditional single-family housing, but grouped and organized in a single unit.

On the west side, the loggias develop on double heights and therefore mark the different housing units.

They extend the interior living space in an indoor/outdoor dance and take advantage of the garden.

On the east side, the generous passageways offer a strolling route for inhabitants and create a transition between public and private spheres.

The particularity of this project lies in the porosity of its two main facades, both dressed in loggias and passageways that relegate them to the background. The alternation of window openings creates a pattern made of textured minerals and smooth metal.

Imagined as a private path distributing villas, it also serves as a meeting space.

Four materials make the facade: precast concrete, textured plaster, anodised aluminum and glass.

Precast concrete, used delicately on the east and west facades, dominates the south and north facades to ancre the building on a solid base and ensure its durability.