The Chevaleret - Jeanne d'Arc district (1986-1994)

This plot is primarily comprised of dilapidated low-level constructions (sheds, shelters, warehouses and workshops) with a scattering of apartment blocks most of which are run-down. And on the other hand, a triangular plot owned by SNCF, delimited by Halle Sernam, Boulevard Vincent Auriol and Rue du Chevaleret.

The primary objective of the operation is to combine these two sectors into a new district with a mix of housing, amenities and businesses which would blend into its immediate environment and link up with the 13th arrondissement as a whole.

The project is being developed according to a conventional organisation based on extension of the grid of existing public spaces. New blocks are being built in order to establish links with the outer limits of the ZAC while respecting the site's characteristics in terms of road layouts, plots and similar building volumes.

The decision was made to focus on two principal spaces: a garden (the Jardin Héloïse et Abélard) and a new street (Rue Louise Weiss, now renowned for its contemporary art galleries) :

- the 8,000 sq.m. garden created on a former reserve has been enlarged and extended by public spaces (two pedestrianised streets and a small square). It is surrounded by programmes for housing and public amenities (1 creche with 60 places in Rue Dunois and a school with 6 classes in Rue Pierre Gourdault); it also hosts the renovated Maison des Cinq Sens. It opens onto the surrounding neighbourhood thanks to the network of existing public highways which is reinforced ;
- to the north of the operation, the programmes are structured along Rue Louise Weiss created on the former SNCF land. Some 300 metres long, it connects the ZAC with Boulevard Vincent Auriol. Along rue Louise Weiss, on the even-number side and on the corners of Boulevard Vincent Auriol, office buildings have been constructed and are now occupied by the Ministry of Finance. On the odd-number side, housing programmes and a commercial property have been built. Development of Rue Louise Weiss on former SNCF land will signal the start of the Paris Rive Gauche operation.

A study aimed at feeding into the stipulations of the PAZ (zone development plan) and its regulation was entrusted to the architect Michel Dottelonde. This review enabled division of the operation into twenty or so lots, organisation of work phasing and definition of a number of specific rules to ensure urban and architectural coherence between the different projects.

The developments

- 895 housing units (441 PLA*, 371 PLI/PCL**, 83 privately owned),
- 4,952 sq.m. of premises for small trade and industrial activities,
- 3 office blocks – 34,440 sq.m. (Ministry of Finance),
- 64 commercial outlets,
- 1 primary school with 6 classes,
- 2 creches (128 places),
- 1 residential building for the elderly (48 studios),
- the Jardin Héloïse et Abélard (8,000 sq.m.),
- the Théâtre Dunois,
- the Darty hostel (24 rooms).

* prêt locatif aidé = assisted rental housing loan

** prêt locatif intermédiaire/prêt conventionné locatif = intermediary rental housing loan/regulated rental housing loan

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