Hôtel de Fourcy – Le Gîte de Fourcy
This proposal won the competition entitled "Reinventing Paris 2: the undersides of Paris." It combined several socially conscious programmes including an urban hostel, a social-housing residence, and cultural and dining activities that help make the site more accessible to the city at large. The result is a welcoming ensemble known as Le Gîte de Fourcy.
Habitat et Humanisme
Logement sociaux et Insertion
Institut Des Futurs Souhaitables
École De La Réinvention
Gaël Lesterlin, Project director
Élise Pagel Prevoteau, Project assitant
Atelier Masse, Structure engineering firm
Asselin, Economist
LM Engineer, bio-based insulation - hemp
Henri IV's original plan for the royal square, which was then on the edge of the city, was to build silk-weaving workshops and housing for workers. This working-class chapter didn't last long. By 1607 the workshops had closed, and the nobility and elites quickly took over the square and its grand houses. The exclusion of working-class people from city centres seems to be a perennial issue: it was already a challenge in the 17th century. Our proposal reconnected the Place des Vosges with its original purpose by giving people of modest means the chance to live or stay in the centre of the capital city. The "urban hostel," run by Habitat et Humanisme, provides a new kind of hotel-style accommodation in Paris for people who may be unused to taking holidays, let alone in a huge city. A social and community-support residence also run by Habitat et Humanisme provides temporary housing for people who are struggling to find standard accommodation for social and financial reasons.