Basket Apartment / OFIS Arhitekti

Architects: OFIS Arhitekti
Area: 8,500 m²
Year: 2013
Photography: Tomaz Gregoric
Lead Architects: Rok Oman, Spela Videcnik
Project Team: Robert Janez, Janez Martincic, Andrej Gregoric, Janja del Linz, Louis Geiswiller, Hyunggyu Kim, Chaewan Shin, Jaehyun Kim, Erin Durno, Javier Carrera, Giuliana Fimmano, Jolien Maes, Lin Wei
Structural Engineering: INTEGRALE 4
MEP Engineering: Cabinet MTC
Client: Regie Immobiliere de la Ville de Paris (RIVP)
City: Paris
Country: France

Basket Apartments, a student housing building in Paris designed by OFIS Arhitekti, resembles a stack of wooden baskets. Located between a football pitch and tram route, the building features two ten-story blocks where each ‘basket’ is a cluster of rooms with private balconies, completed in 2013.

Slovenia studio OFIS Arhitekti designed Basket Apartment, a student housing complex in Paris, to resembles a stack of wooden baskets. The concept involved spinning and rotating baskets to avoid a predefined linear building. Located between a football pitch and a tram route, the building consists of two ten-story blocks. Each ‘basket’ is a cluster of rooms with private balconies.

Despite the irregular facade, each study bedroom is the same size with an identical layout. Open-air corridors run along the rear elevation, contained behind a tessellated mesh screen. These galleries serve as an open common space for students. A bridge connects the two blocks at the second-floor level, spanning a small garden in the space between.

The project is situated on a long and narrow site on the edge of Parc La Villette in Paris’s 19th district, part of an urban development by Reichen & Robert architects. The northeast side of the site is adjacent to a new Paris tram route, while the southwest side borders a tram garage with a football field above it. The first three floors of the housing share a wall with the tram garage.

The parcel’s configuration, 11 meters in width and approximately 200 meters north-south, highlights the importance of the eastern facade facing the extension of the street des Petits Ponts, which hosts tram, cyclist, and pedestrian walkways.

The building is divided into two parts connected by a narrow bridge, with a garden between them. The building has 11 floors, including a technical space in the basement, shared programs on the ground floor, and student apartments in the upper nine floors. The layout is rational and modular.

The project’s primary goal was to provide a healthy environment for students to study, learn, and socialize. An open corridor and gallery run along the length of the football field, offering views of the city and the Eiffel Tower. This gallery provides access to the apartments, serving as a common space. All studios are the same size, containing an entrance, bathroom, wardrobe, kitchenette, working space, and bed. Each apartment has a balcony overlooking the street.

The narrow plot with ten floors gives the site a significant presence. Each volume has two different faces according to function and program. The elevation towards the street des Petits Ponts features studio balconies-baskets of varying sizes made from HPL timber stripes, randomly oriented to diversify views and rhythm. Shifted baskets create a dynamic surface, breaking down the building’s scale and proportion.

The elevation facing the football field has an open passage walkway with studio entrances enclosed with a 3D metal mesh. Both volumes are connected on the first floor with a narrow bridge, which also serves as an open common space for students.

The building is energy efficient, aligning with Paris’ sustainable development goals. The Plan Climates goal is for future housing to consume 50KW-hm² or less. The building’s energy performance and construction timetable were met by focusing on a simple, well-insulated, and ventilated structure that functions efficiently year-round.

Accommodations are cross-ventilated, allowing abundant daylight throughout the apartments. External corridors and glass staircases promote natural lighting in common areas, saving energy and creating comfortable social spaces. The building is insulated from the outside with 20 cm thick insulation, and thermal bridge breakers are used on corridor floors and balconies to avoid thermal bridges.

Ventilation is controlled by double-flow mechanical ventilation, providing clean air with optimal temperature year-round. Incoming air reuses heat from exhaust air. The roof has 300m² of photovoltaic panels generating electricity. Rainwater is harvested on-site in a basin pool for watering outdoor green spaces.