Eco Factor: 180 student apartment studios designed with an ambition of minimal power consumption.
Slovenia-based architecture firm, OFIS Arhiteckti, has won a completion design for new student apartment studios on Route des Petits Ponts in Paris, France. The project is due to be completed by the end of 2010, just before the city’s tram system reaches that section. The apartments have been designed with an ambition of minimal power consumption and the building will house various sustainable features to make students learn the benefits of energy conservation and sustainability.
The project includes a dormitory with 180 studio apartments, all of which require minimum power. The residence follows the urban plot of two concrete blocks connected by a landscape garden. The 29.2 m high building has lobbies, rooms and open common rooms on its ground floor while the studios are on the upper floors with a terrace on top. The project ensures maximum efficiency by minimizing the need of heating by including extra efficient thermal insulation. Since the building has been designed for students, soundproofing has been designed to high standards to keep the atmosphere peaceful for students residing in the studios. The building also incorporates openings to make the most of the natural light.
The Dark Side:
Thermally insulating the building will definitely cut down on the heating energy costs but at the same time can have its count on the building’s ventilation. If the building is low on natural ventilation it can affect the health of the students inside it, or it will need some kind of an electronic ventilation system that will spoil the sustainable credentials of the building on the whole.
Via: Contemporist/WorldArchitectureNews
