The Olympe residential complex sits in the heart of Weimerskirch-Kirchberg, close to the European quarter and to the cultural and sporting facilities around it, including the d’Coque national centre. Built on a steeply sloping site, the project uses that fall in the ground to its advantage, improving how the buildings meet the street, keeping them compact and opening the apartments to the sun.
The programme comprises three buildings, two of them adjoining, replacing the earlier structures on the site. Together they hold thirty-two homes of varying sizes over four to five storeys, across the Athens, Helsinki and Tokyo residences. Volumes and orientations were worked out to maximise daylight, comfort and energy performance while keeping the street line continuous and the scale in step with the neighbourhood. Every apartment has a balcony or terrace, with open views and a genuine extension of the rooms outdoors.
The project follows a demanding environmental brief, aiming at passive or very low energy construction. It combines green roofs, hybrid solar panels, water and heat recovery systems, reinforced thermal insulation and triple glazing, holding energy performance high without asking residents to give up comfort.
