Bagneux Apartment Building: A Contemporary Model for Low-Carbon Housing in France

Located in Bagneux, the Bagneux Apartment Building by toa | architectes associés offers a compelling vision for sustainable collective housing rooted in material honesty, climatic intelligence, and social responsibility. Completed in 2024, the 2,960 m² residential project delivers 42 apartments while redefining the architectural potential of raw earth construction in an urban European context.

Architectural Concept: Inhabited Earthen Strata

Conceived as a superposition of inhabited earthen layers, the building’s expressive mud brick façades establish a strong yet calming presence within the district. These textured elevations act as a backdrop for exterior corridors and balconies, which are integral to the building’s typology. This configuration ensures every apartment benefits from double orientation, improving daylight access and cross-ventilation, while also shielding the adobe façades from direct exposure to harsh weather conditions.

The circulation strategy shapes a domestic and human-scaled environment, where movement through the building remains visually and spatially connected to its surroundings. Duplex penthouses crown the structure, opening onto generous peripheral terraces that extend living spaces outdoors and reinforce the relationship between architecture and climate. All dwellings are oriented toward pedestrian pathways and shared gardens, fostering a sense of openness, greenery, and collective calm within a dense residential fabric.

Environmental Performance: Raw Earth as a Low-Carbon Strategy

Sustainability lies at the core of the project’s architectural and technical approach. Designed as a low-carbon housing model, the building is constructed using mud bricks—a recyclable, geo-sourced material with minimal environmental impact. The earth used for construction is locally sourced, significantly reducing transportation emissions and embodied carbon.

The earthen bricks are produced by the artisanal Dewulf brickworks using low mechanization and open-air drying, further minimizing energy consumption during fabrication. Beyond its ecological credentials, earthen construction provides substantial thermal and hygrothermal benefits, naturally regulating indoor temperatures and humidity levels. This passive performance enhances occupant comfort year-round while reducing reliance on mechanical heating and ventilation systems.

At the apartment scale, west–east dual exposure layouts promote efficient natural ventilation, limiting the need for energy-intensive systems and reinforcing the project’s climate-responsive design philosophy.

Social Dimension: Democratizing Earthen Architecture

Beyond environmental performance, the use of raw earth carries a strong social ambition. Although earthen construction remains underregulated and often perceived as costly, the project seeks to democratize its use within contemporary housing. Throughout the design and construction process, toa | architectes associés actively engaged clients, public officials, contractors, and future residents to build confidence in this natural material.

Through guidance, education, and collaboration, the project successfully overcame technical and cultural reservations, demonstrating that raw earth can serve as a viable, durable, and desirable alternative to conventional concrete construction. In doing so, the Bagneux Apartment Building positions itself as both an architectural prototype and a catalyst for broader adoption of sustainable materials in urban housing.

Project Facts

• Project: Bagneux Apartment Building
• Location: Bagneux, France
• Program: Residential (42 apartments)
• Architects: toa | architectes associés
• Area: 2,960 m²
• Year: 2024
• Photographs: Frédéric Delangle, Yang Zhou
• Project Management: Groupe Gambetta
• Construction Engineering: Bérim

All photographs are works of  Frédéric Delangle, Yang Zhou