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In a composition of zinc, copper, whitewash plaster, and rough concrete, an exuberant layer of prefabricated orange-red shingles acts as a uniting architectural element, covering the roofs of the main rows of maisonettes and wrapping down some side facades. That color is echoed in the pair of flower pots on each wide windowsill.

As I walked around Eden Bio on a chilly autumn afternoon, the sun seemed to warm the path in front of me, reflecting off the red tiles. I spotted another architectural tourist snapping photos, and it didn't feel like I was in the midst of a public housing project, but rather on a typical pedestrian street, with people walking dogs and others sitting and chatting on the staircases above.

The materials — especially the timber trellising around the apartments — suggest a neighborhood in progress, rather than a polished design. Whether that impression will soften with the growth of the landscaping remains to be seen.

'Poetics' of Humane Sustainability

Édouard François says, "Doing a building is also doing a crime, so the crime must be perfect." According to him, that means it must have "a use, a humanity, and it must also be comfortable," a philosophy exemplified by several elements at Eden Bio.

In the central apartment building, every unit has double exposure and has a balcony facing roughly south. A wooden stair leads up to each pair of doors, giving a sense of entry and arrival to each resident. "It is stupid to enter a building and then go up to a small area, maybe 1.2 by four meters [four by 13 feet] and take an elevator and then to find the door," says François. "I want everyone to open up their door in the morning and have fresh air. This is a freedom of being able to start the day fresh, to see the sky."

François tried to follow what he calls the "poetics" of sustainability at Eden Bio, looking at the site, materials, and utility of spaces. There may be no solar panels or heat pumps, but simple and logical features and strategies — such as double-glazed windows, substantial insulation, and natural ventilation — make a big difference in the comfort of residents and the performance of buildings.

"Ultra-insulated buildings must allow for cross breeze and two orientations," he says. "Otherwise it is crazy; people will feel like they are inside a thermos and they will buy an air conditioner."

The trellis facade should eventually provide something of a wall of greenery, and the roof of the apartment block has been planted with sedum, as have the roofs in a nearby cluster of buildings that combine artist studios with apartments, on the spur connecting to rue de Buzenval.

Eden in Context

Surrounded by a low-rise patchwork of residential buildings and shops, the narrow openings into Eden Bio's alleys suggest neither a closed community nor a public area. These pedestrian routes offer semiprivate intimacy to the inward-looking development, and its proportion and scale are just right to make this seem comfortable.

The strategy of densifying the center of the block while maintaining a street presence in keeping with the surroundings allows for a community feel, something often lacking in high-rise public housing. François says this approach is relatively new for Paris.

Several derelict storefront buildings on rue des Vignoles and rue de Terre Neuve were demolished, except for their facades, and then rebuilt; one houses a small restaurant. On the latter street stands a building that appears to be a small garage, its red door leading to a 52-car parking garage under the main building.

Following the botanical theme, a small greenhouse was inserted at each of those two entrances to the project. An allusion to the area's history of fruit cultivation, these glass structures serve as small lobbies of sorts, housing residents' mailboxes and providing storage space for strollers.

Verdure on Vignoles

Just as François's design for his other well-known Paris housing project, Tower Flower (2004), was inspired by a nearby park, his approach to Eden Bio was more about integrating living plants and giving residents a sense of the seasons than about following a checklist of "green" features.

François envisions the mature garden as a sensory delight: "Smell, there is a majority of scented plants such as lilac and muguet [lily of the valley]. Taste, the garden will produce large and small fruit including apples, pears, currants and a collection of mints. Hearing, the plants such as elderberries and ivy will be evaluated by the birds. And with regard to sight and view, the garden will have rich tones of purple, yellow, white and gold, with birds and butterflies among them."

He expects the original plantings, by landscape architect Sophie Barbaux, to be complemented by an unpredictable smattering of species added later, whether by chance or design.

The architect made a particular point of ensuring the garden beds consisted of thick layers of high-quality soil rich in organic matter. "Often after the excavation of a car park, the earth is strewn with construction debris and the solution is to coat it with chemical products to bolster plants for the handover date," he says. "So at the beginning of construction [of Eden Bio], we applied very expensive biological earth to the site, and during construction everyone had to be very careful considering the price of that earth."

The vegetation was selected to require as little maintenance as possible. "We have to be patient," he says. "Usually people want to plant things as big as possible, but I purposely used small plants, only two to three centimeters [about one inch] high and I chose them for their ability to grow here without fertilizers or pesticides." Whether these living components of the project will be maintained enough to flourish is unclear.

Eden Bio was completed in late 2008, with the gardens following soon afterwards. As of about a year later, there were some green plants poking through the timber fencing, areas of fertile-looking soil, lawns starting to grow around the buildings, and wisteria vines beginning to climb the trellis walls. But it is hard to imagine this neighborhood overgrown, despite François's enthusiasm.

The architect does recognize the development as a work in progress. "Eden Bio is a project to discover, in several years, after maturation, like good wines," he says.

It's rare indeed that an urban public housing project is designed to get better over time. Eden Bio may grow into its surroundings, and in time the small trees, vines, and other plants may create a verdant oasis in the city.

In the meantime, this new little neighborhood offers its residents a humane built environment.   >>>

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Terri Peters is a writer and designer based in Copenhagen and London.   More by Terri Peters

SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE Access to individual units of the central four-story apartment mass at Eden Bio is achieved through several open wood-and-concrete staircases that run along the building's long sides. Photo: David Boureau Extra Large Image Rows of three- and four-story maisonettes flank the central apartment building at Eden Bio. Photo: David Boureau Eden Bio stands in a neighborhood of low-rise buildings of varied ages and states of repair. Photo: Terri Peters Extra Large Image Eden Bio ground-floor plan drawing. Image: Agence Édouard François Extra Large Image Eden Bio section-elevation drawings of the central apartment building. Image: Agence Édouard François Extra Large Image Eden Bio detail stair elevation at a maisonette. Image: Agence Édouard François Extra Large Image Wood scaffolding and guardrails along the exterior of the apartment building are intended to support growing wisteria vines. Photo: Terri Peters Extra Large Image The roofs of the two main rows of maisonettes are clad in a consistent red terra cotta tile, while the facade treatments vary by building, between standing-seam zinc and copper and unfinished concrete. Photo: David Boureau Extra Large Image   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.