In Montpellier, So Wood or the Hanging Gardens of Port Marianne

A+Architecture and Hellin Sebbag Pirany architectes delivered So Wood in Montpellier (France) in 2024. Stepped buildings aligned on the street, active and varied roofs, a southern opening onto the landscape, and inhabited inner courtyards.

Context

An emblematic urban development project in the Montpellier metropolitan area, the Port Marianne district stems from an ambitious vision to extend the city towards the sea.

To the west, on the banks of the Lez, the Port Marianne ZAC, developed by A+Architecture, marked the first step in this significant urban project.

To the east, on the banks of the Lironde, the République ZAC designed by Nicolas Michelin represents the culmination, both physically and temporally, of this city extension towards the Mediterranean.

The Project

So Wood is a mixed-use development comprising 105 housing units, 5 SOHO (Small Office Home Office) units, offices and shops, and 103 parking spaces, forming a unified architectural ensemble with each of the two architectural firms subtly marking their work.

With a shared project owner (Icade / REI Habitat / Kalelithos), a common wood-frame construction principle, and a unified facade cladding – specifically, a metal siding in differentiated colors – along with shutters in either louvered or roller formats, the project achieves coherence through its diversity.

The communal parking, topped with a substantial layer of soil, is now a wild garden and shared gardens.

Functioning / Circulation

The 105 housing units, many of which are accessed via walkways, are distributed across six buildings and six stairwells.

Each lobby is directly accessible from both the public space and the central courtyard.

Residents have the freedom to choose their paths. The sloping roofs are also inhabited (attics or loft spaces).

The ground-floor apartments all have private gardens enclosed by planted beds and/or embankments that shield them from the communal area.

The ground floors and first floors (G+1) house commercial spaces with mezzanines, totaling 7 meters in height.

The offices on the first and second floors (G+1 and G+2) create an intermediate level between the commercial spaces and the residential units, ensuring a seamless transition between these distinct volumes.

A covered passage serves as the pedestrian entrance to the heart of the complex, accessible to the public during the day.

Materials

Certified as Silver Level Occitanie Sustainable Building and bio-sourced building, the project had to embody the environmental and innovative challenges of this rapidly growing district.

The choice of a comprehensive virtuous approach, exemplary energy performance, reduction of the carbon footprint, and the use of durable materials and construction systems naturally imposed themselves.

In harmony with the omnipresence of greenery, wood is incorporated into every part of the project.

It is expressed through a mixed structure, perfectly combining wood-framed walls, wooden beams, bio-sourced insulation, and concrete floors, suitable for a R+9 elevation and meeting acoustic and thermal inertia requirements.