ES3 Collective Housing: A New Model of Collective Housing in Rennes, France

Introducing ES3: Collective Housing Rooted in Community

Located in Rennes as part of the La Courrouze urban redevelopment, ES3 Collective Housing by Lemoal Architectes and 2PM A offers a thoughtful vision for collective housing Rennes France. This 3,377 m² project comprises 48 residences arranged around a lush central garden, designed to foster community cohesion, daylight, and comfort in an urban context.

Fragmented Volumes Around Shared Greenery

The architecture of ES3 is deliberately fractured into compact, varied building volumes. This fragmentation allows the housing to embrace the central garden and integrate communal green space directly into daily life. The layout encourages visual permeability while preserving privacy and intimacy across diverse apartment types.

Dual-Oriented Apartments Designed for Well‑Being

Every dwelling is dual‑oriented or a through-apartment, enhancing cross-ventilation, daylight, and spatial fluidity. Generous loggias extend living areas outdoors, creating semi-private thresholds between inside and outside. Material selection—predominantly raw concrete and warm earth tones—gives the buildings a tactile, grounded presence that ages gracefully.

Community Focus and Shared Outdoor Quality

A full-soil planted courtyard anchors the project. As a shared communal space, the garden becomes the social heart of ES3, encouraging interactions, child play, and nature connection. Paths, seating alcoves, and communal amenity areas weave through the landscaped core, echoing European co-housing traditions in contemporary form.

Material Honesty and Everyday Functionality

Interior finishes are restrained and honest: exposed concrete joins simple, durable surfaces to foster longevity and minimal maintenance. Each apartment layout prioritizes everyday comfort through thoughtful orientation, generous daylight, and outdoor continuity. The overall design balances economy, environmental sensibility, and everyday livability.

ES3 as an Exemplary Collective Housing Model

By combining communal gardens, porous building masses, and human-scaled design principles, ES3 sets a benchmark for collective housing Rennes France. It demonstrates how urban housing can deliver private living, shared ecology, and architectural elegance simultaneously. ES3 is not just a residential project—it’s a community-building strategy rooted in well-being, density, and connection.

All Photographs are works of Charles Bouchaib