Introduction
Muret is a French commune located 26 km south of Toulouse, in the Occitanie region, in the department of Haute-Garonne, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Located in the neighbourhood of northern Muret (31 Toulouse), Maïmat Square was designed based on the model of the “Grands Ensembles” which were favoured in the 1960s. Committed to revitalizing the district, Promologis initiated an urban renewal project in close collaboration with the town of Muret and the project management team. The urban renewal project of Maïmat Square is articulated around a large wooded area, within which eight residential blocks are located. A public square to the south accommodates an open air market and a row of shops located at the foot of the shared ownership building.
Reason to Be Selected
The important question of “residentialisation” and more generally the relationship to the ground was considered by Promologis and the project management team, whose reflection lead to a spatial architectural and landscape solution: wooded islets and common courtyards.
Highlights:
Phase 1 of the project positively transformed the neighbourhood and the quality of life for the residents. Formerly focused in on itself and totally impermeable, the site is now open and porous. Key programming was streamlined to enable this transformation: An underground parking constructed beneath the public square provided part of the required car parking. Other parking places were distributed around the site’s periphery, liberating the centre of the city block for pedestrians and other means of non-vehicular transport.Details
The ground floor is freed up from housing and forms a space which provides an interface between the public space and the building’s lobby. Functional and easily appropriated, these public courtyards provide a link, and offer a pleasant environment to encounter one’s neighbours.
Recommended
Around the inhabited plots, wooded islets promote the identity of the new neighbourhood, which is perceived as a landscaped public park, wooded and inhabited.
Concrete and wood cladding for the buildings was selected and used for their raw appearance and the ease of maintenance. The exterior works include the recovery of materials from the site : Metal railings to fence the planted islets. Logs and felled trees to fence the planted islets.
Conclusions
Crushed concrete from demolition used to reconstitute the soil horizons. Crushed concrete (0/40) from recycling facilities for outdoor spaces excluding main roads. 50X50 concrete slabs from the former shopping centre to surface the small courtyards.
| Lat: | 48.51 |
| Lng: | 2.17 |
| Type: | |
| Region: | Europe |
| Scale: | District |
| Field: | Landscape |
| City: | Toulouse |