Civic framework

In the early 2000s, ‘Paspoel,’ a neighbourhood in Tongeren, Belgium, was seen as a poorly designed and poorly maintained social housing area lacking a distinct identity. Residents felt isolated within their apartments, surrounded by an underutilized, park-like landscape that was unsafe. The development included 192 homes spread across three monolithic blocks that were nearing the end of their lifespan. Faced with the decision to demolish or renovate, the Flemish Ministry of Housing opted for demolition, aligning with our client’s goal to significantly enhance social equity and living conditions.

 

Site Challenges

Because the site held archaeological significance, development was restricted to the foundations of existing buildings and the adjacent basement parking. Despite these limitations, the proposal envisioned an pioneering reimagining: a collection of urban villas, terraces, and a revitalized public realm that would serve as a new civic framework for the community.

The design integrates residents’ natural movement across the site – from the northeast to the southwest – within a ‘grid-like’ spatial layout. This creates a series of interconnected ‘outdoor rooms’ that frame daily journeys and spontaneous interactions amongst neighbors. These outdoor spaces encourage community bonding, stewardship, and healthy living through areas designated for gathering, playing, and growing.

 

 

Functional Organization

The ground floors, framed by buildings ranging from three to eight stories, offer ample opportunities for social interaction. Terraces with front doors navigate the sloping terrain, while wide ‘galleries’ allow neighbors to connect while overlooking gardens. The broad entrances of the urban villas extend over public spaces, providing shelter, pathways, and seating. New community rooms at ground level serve as venues for meetings and local events. Landscaped areas cater to all ages, featuring basketball courts, formal play zones, community gardens, and sheltered lawns for informal recreation. Trees line key pathways, serving as shelters and defining three communal areas. A pedestrian street at the heart of the project, lively with front-door activity, supports outdoor pop-up events.

 

 

Construction Strategy

A crucial aspect of the project was ensuring residents could remain on site throughout the transformation. Due to limited buildable space, a complex phased construction plan was implemented over ten years. The basement parking permitted initial phases to be built between the old structures, facilitating a gradual process of demolition, construction, and resident relocation.

The “Caring Neighborhoods” initiative launched alongside construction fostered cooperation among residents, volunteers, associations, and professionals. Emphasizing livability and community involvement, this program brought services closer to residents.

 

Perforated facade

Located in the heart of Mallorca (Balearic Islands), the project consists of 54 social housing homes with a parking space on a municipality-owned, rectangular-shaped plot of 3,266m2.

 

Design Philosophy

The proposal resolves two fundamental challenges: a precise building integration into the urban and natural environment, and a solution that tackles the functional aspects of the program. The building is organized along a north-south axis, where two independent volumes form a large public space in-between them. Within the two structures, the housing modules are centered around a wet core, seamlessly blending with the site’s characteristics.

 

Construction & Materials

The building structure is made of a reticular system of 35cm thick concrete slabs with large spans, and metal pillars that offer flexibility for any future reconversion needs. Each home has an outdoor space: a private garden on the ground floor, and terraces and patios on the upper floors, which help regulate the outdoor temperature through passive strategies. The selected finishes and materials are sourced through the local industry, prioritizing circular economy over convenience.

 

Sustainable practices

In respect to the climate crisis, the project features NeZB efficiency, a water recycling system, waste reduction practices, and a 50% decrease of CO2 emissions due to the careful material selection (compared to buildings with similar characteristics). The façade is comprised of a double ceramic sheet with recycled cotton insulation as well as cork and lime coarse developed by local companies. The shades are made of larch wood manufactured by local craftsmen. Finally, a sustainable aerothermal system offers ample ventilation across all spaces, with minimal energy consumption.

Change of Use

The project aim is to transform a 25m2 garage into a 32m2 micro-residence, expanding the usable space through the new design and creating a quiet, tranquil apartment detached from the chaotic city scenery.

 

Social Footprint & Sustainability

The ‘micro-residence’ concept addresses the extensive housing problem many cities face. The rapid growth of short-term rentals makes the need for compact, smart solutions even greater. A major project advantage is its small energy footprint due to its size. This feature follows a global approach to social, economic, and environmental planning that addresses the current housing as well as energy crisis.

 

 

Architectural Design

The space spans in two floors, in which an internal balcony and a bespoke double-height bookcase visually connects the two levels. The living room and kitchen are situated on the ground floor level, while the staircase doubles as hidden storage space. To connect the interior with the exterior space, the entry hallway is transformed into a threshold between the residence and the street. In parallel, the new façade blends into the surrounding urban context, painted in subtle tones and lined with custom railing inspired from modernist buildings in the area and ensuring, at the same time, the safety and privacy of the user.

 

 

Material Palette

Steel is the primary material used for the renovation, acting both as a discrete structural component painted in white as well as an accent feature used for the construction of a metallic ladder and the beige railings in the façade. Warm oak wood is matched with white lacquer used for the kitchen surfaces along with carefully selected tiles that clad the bathroom walls and floor.

 

In the small inland village of Cristinacce, three municipal apartments replace a ruin through a contemporary timber construction that combines social housing, local resources and the architectural scale of the existing settlement.

 

Municipal Housing in Corsica by Orma Architettura reconstructs and reorganizes a ruined building in the village of Cristinacce to create three city-owned apartments.

The project addresses three interconnected questions: the provision of affordable housing in a depopulating rural settlement, the environmental impact of construction on the island, and the insertion of contemporary architecture within an established village fabric.

Rather than treating these objectives independently, the architects bring them together through a building whose structure and envelope are predominantly made from locally sourced Laricio pine.

 

 

Housing as a tool against depopulation

The social dimension of the project begins with its municipal ownership. The three dwellings have different typologies, allowing them to accommodate a variety of households rather than reproducing one standardized apartment.

In the context of Corsica’s inland villages, this programme has a broader territorial significance. New housing is introduced not through suburban expansion, but within the existing settlement, on the site of a ruin.

The project therefore treats social housing as part of a strategy for maintaining year-round life in a small village. Providing well-designed homes for lower-income residents becomes a means of supporting a population that might otherwise be pushed towards the island’s larger coastal centres.

 

A contemporary building within the village

The new construction responds to the scale of Cristinacce without reproducing the appearance of its older stone buildings.

Its volumes follow the proportions of the surrounding fabric, while the timber construction clearly identifies the intervention as contemporary. Material continuity across the façades gives the building a restrained and homogeneous expression, helping the new volumes sit within the village without resorting to imitation.

Large openings distinguish the apartments from the more enclosed traditional houses around them. They introduce natural light, contribute to the environmental performance of the dwellings and frame views towards the distant Corsican mountains.

The architecture therefore negotiates between two apparently opposing conditions: continuity with the village and an explicit expression of contemporary construction.

 

 

Laricio pine as structure and envelope

Timber defines both the structure and the external surface of the building. The use of Laricio pine connects the project directly with a resource that is abundant across Corsica and particularly significant within the island’s forests.

The decision goes beyond the visual character of timber. By using it structurally, Orma Architettura explores how a regional material can support contemporary collective housing.

The load-bearing system is conceived with perimeter walls and a limited number of internal structural divisions. This approach gives the apartments a degree of spatial flexibility and avoids fixing the building too rigidly to its initial programme.

At the same time, the predominantly timber envelope gives the project a clear material identity. Its uniform treatment reinforces the simplicity of the volumes and distinguishes the intervention from the masonry structures around it.

 

Building with locally available timber

Despite Corsica’s extensive forest resources, the local timber-construction chain remains limited. One of the principal difficulties identified by the architects is the lack of drying facilities capable of preparing timber locally to the moisture levels normally required for conventional timber construction.

As a result, Corsican wood is frequently transported to mainland France or Italy for drying and processing before returning to the island.

The project seeks to interrupt this cycle. Its construction system was developed to accommodate timber that had not been industrially dried to the approximately 13% moisture content normally required for traditional timber-frame assemblies.

This decision allowed the Laricio pine to be processed with fewer off-island stages. The architectural response is therefore linked directly to the practical limitations of the regional production chain rather than relying on an idealized notion of local material.

 

 

Material economy and environmental response

The restrained construction supports the project’s environmental objectives. Local timber reduces dependence on materials transported over long distances, while the design of the openings improves daylight and natural ventilation within the apartments.

The project also avoids separating environmental performance from architectural expression. The structural material remains visible in the character of the façades, while the dimensions and position of the openings respond simultaneously to views, interior comfort and the scale of the village.

In this sense, the low-carbon ambition is embedded in decisions concerning sourcing, construction and spatial organization rather than added as an independent technological layer.

Municipal Housing in Corsica ultimately combines social, environmental and architectural concerns within a modest rural intervention. Its significance lies not only in the construction of three apartments, but in demonstrating how public housing, local resources and contemporary design can contribute to the continuity of an inland community.