MVRDV completes the green valley in Bordeaux
Along the right bank of the Garonne in BordeauxLa Vallée Verte gathers three sharply angled pale buildings around a green inner cavity. Completed by MVRDV within the Bastide Niel quarter, the residential The project is located between shaded streets and former railway lines, where the area’s industrial past meets a new slice of town shaped by sloping roofs, narrow passages and planted courtyards.
The project brings seventy homes to the northwest end of Bastide Niel, with apartments ranging in size to support a mix of residents, from first-time buyers to families. From the street, the buildings follow the rules of MVRDV’s larger masterplan, with smooth, light gray tiled facades and roof levels that continue the angular language of the area while helping to reduce heat gain.
MVRDV completes La Vallée Verte in the growing Bastide Niel region of Bordeaux. image © Matthieu Lecouvey
a courtyard carved into the square
Within the triangular plot of Bordeaux’s La Vallée Verte, MVRDV’s architecture changes character. The three blocks open to a circular courtyard, where terraces, loggias, planters, shrubs, grasses and small trees create the feeling of a planted valley within the housing complex. Full-height openings face inwards, giving the apartments a view of this shared green interior, while the street-facing facades remain more flat and restrained.
Planting works vertically as well as horizontally. Different species occupy different levels, giving the courtyard the multi-layered feel of a constructed landscape, with greenery rising from the ground floor to the upper terraces.
THE design team It also defines access routes for professional gardeners to the balconies, using openings in the structural walls and steel doors between neighboring terraces. In a humorous detail, these doors take the silhouette of a person wearing a wide hat.
the residential complex gathers 70 residences around a circular planted courtyard. image © Paul Lefevre
the geometry of bastide niel’s suncut
MVRDV’s La Vallée Verte follows the logic of Bordeaux’s wider Bastide Niel masterplan, which redevelops a former industrial area and military barracks into a dense urban area. Its sloping profiles derive from the design’s parametric suncuts, a system that shapes each building so that the surrounding structures receive direct sunlight throughout the year.
In the words of Winy Maas, the roof of the area becomes “like icebergs”, while each architect working on the masterplan adds a specific interpretation.
For La Vallée Verte, this interpretation is indoor and green. The angled white mass belongs to the public face of Bastide Niel, while the courtyard creates a more secluded atmosphere shared by residents and visitors. A nursery occupies the ground floor of a building, opening onto the sheltered outdoor space in the center of the plot.
three corner buildings follow the geometry of the basic Bastide Niel plan. image © Paul Lefevre
housing in a flood plain
The project is also part of Bastide Niel’s wider environmental strategy. The district is certified under France’s EcoQuartier initiative and La Vallée Verte is connected to district heating, while photovoltaic panels cover part of its electricity needs. The streetscape is porous to help absorb rain and flood water, an important detail given its location on the Garonne River floodplain.
Parking for the surrounding community is placed in an adjacent above-ground structure, reducing exposure to flooding and reducing the embodied carbon associated with the underground structure. The apartments on the ground floor are raised so that water can pass through the space when needed.
Facades with light gray tiles help reduce heat gain at street-facing elevations. image © Paul Lefevre
the inner courtyard creates a secluded green haven for residents and visitors. image © Paul Lefevre
