SWA were selected through a competitive process to participate in the second phase of this competition launched in October 2004. The competition called for affordable housing schemes for a choice of 4 sites within the new French town of Senart established originally in 1975. This is one of five new towns in the Parisian region and is 30km from Paris. The initiative was supported by Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), Direction de l’Architecture et du Partrimoine (DAPA) and The Housing Corporation.

The competition format “Atelier de Definition” demanded the partnering teams and the client to establish a dialogue and inform the programme. SWA partnered with Boskop, a French architectural practice based in Lille, to develop a scheme which embodied best practice in the design of affordable sustainable and accessible housing.

The joint scheme focused on the relationship between public and private spaces. A large open undercroft space provided smaller, more intimate semi private entrances to each apartment. Each unit comprises a flexible layout with all major room sizes having the same dimensions allowing residents to establish their use.

The ground level remained entirely public and accessible and was intended for communal leisure pursuits.