The architecture agency DREAM has just completed a socially impactful urban renewal project in Saint-Denis. Located on Rue Fraizier and Rue du Landy, this new residential complex marks a major step in the revitalization of the neighborhood, 24 years after a tragic fire destroyed a dilapidated building. As the first housing development under a french shared equity lease (BRS-Bail Réel Solidaire) to be delivered in Saint-Denis, the building combines architectural ambition with harmonious integration into the urban fabric.

 

repairing the neighborhood, rebuilding social ties

 

On the night of February 1–2, 2001, a deadly fire ravaged an old, rundown building on Rue Fraizier, exposing precarious living conditions. Exploited by slumlords, this building symbolized substandard housing and the urgent need for urban transformation. Today, the neighborhood is undergoing regeneration toward greater inclusivity and well-being, more social diversity, and more green spaces. The residential complex delivered by DREAM embodies this renewed vision.

 

unique housing units

 

With 44 housing units — 22 for social rental and 22 for social homeownership (BRS) — the project aims to translate the qualities of individual homes into collective housing, with a specific typology for each unit, most of which are walk-through and multi-oriented, with high-quality outdoor spaces. Each unit complies with the new construction quality charter of Plaine Commune and was designed with particular attention to usage and orientation: they are bright, comfortable, and well-ventilated. The units feature real entrance sequences with storage, kitchens with direct daylight that can be closed off if desired, and large panoramic windows. All living areas are connected to a balcony or, on the ground floor, to a garden.

 

OFF-site construction: a graphic and low-carbon design

 

The project’s aesthetic is expressed through a rhythmic and graphic composition of volumes. The alternating use of raw materials on the façades — wood and metal — combined with the fine lines of wooden sunshades and balcony undersides softens the mass effect and creates a genuine visual lightness. This interplay of materials and textures promotes a sensitive integration into its urban environment. The building shape, resulting from a morphological and environmental analysis of the site, ensure optimal management of sunlight and shadow while offering a wide range of outdoor spaces. For this mixed wood-concrete structure, prefabrication was a key lever for quality and construction coherence. All timber-frame façades, incorporating metal cladding, wood joinery, and deflectors, were fully manufactured in the workshop, ensuring optimal execution quality and precise detailing. The balconies, made of self-supporting wood-metal structures, were also entirely prefabricated. Resting on staggered beam structures, they integrate elegantly into the whole, refining the façade’s silhouette.

 

a green courtyard and shared spaces

 

The housing block features a generous garden visible through two passageway lobbies accessible from Rue du Landy and Rue Fraizier. Nearly all the housing units benefit fully from this green lung. Moreover, the project places special emphasis on shared spaces, designed in collaboration with Plaine Commune Habitat to foster interaction and social diversity. The spacious and welcoming entrance lobby encourages residents to pause and meet — it is a community space. Rooftop gardens on each building provide areas for relaxation and social exchange. Through this project, the DREAM agency offers residents a reimagined, safe, and inclusive living environment.

 

DATA SHEET Client

Public Office Plaine Commune Habitat

Architecture & Landscape DREAM

Lead Architect Stella Buisan

Structural Engineering Bollinger+Grohmann

MEP (Fluids) ENEOR

Environmental Certification Le Sommer

Cost Consultant VPEAS

Roads and Utilities (VRD) LMP Conseils

Acoustics AIDA

Project Coordination Cap-Exe

Contractors Topager (landscape), Meha construction bois (timber facade & metalwork), MTTB (structural work), Palm étanchéité (waterproofing), Aequo (macro-lot coordination for shell and landscaping), Perasol (partitions, flooring, painting), P-tec (MEP), Sloveg (electricity), OTIS (elevators)

Floor Area 2,775 m² habitable (SHAB)

Construction Cost €7 million

Environmental Approach NF Habitat certified, RT 2012 -20%

Calendar Delivered in January 2025 DREAM 9 Passage du Cheval Blanc 75011 Paris - France 5 Rue Guiglia 06 000 Nice - France Emmanuelle Echassoux T : +33 (0)1 43 43 10 09 ee@dream.archi www.dream.archi LinkedIn | @DREAM Instagram | @dream_dimitriroussel

 

floorplan

AGENCY DREAM is an age of architecture fondée in 2018 by Dimitri Roussel. Based in Paris and Nice, our dynamic and international team is a trentaine of passionate collaborators. Nos réalisations s'illustrent par a variety of projects: logements, bureaux, equipment sports and cultures, ainsi que des architecturals éphémères. Notre expertise en mixité programmatic est particulièrement reconnue. The project that our entrepreneurs are animated by a continued social engagement and environmental ambitions. L’innovation is at the heart of our creation. Nous utilisons des matériaux biosourcés et géosourcés tels que le bois, la terre et la pierre, et collaborons avec des partenaires locaux partageant nos valeurs. Chez DREAM, nous cryons en une architecture qui transcende les forms pour créer des espaces responsables et inspirations pour all.

 

Dimitri Roussel
 

ARCHITECTE FONDATEUR Né en 1985 à Firminy (France) The aurait pu embrasser une career de basketteur après des débuts professionnels dans l'équipe de sa ville natale de Saint-Etienne, c'est finalement sa passion pour les arts plastiques qui le mettra sur le chemin de l'architecture. Diplômé de l'ENSA Paris La Villette in 2008, the choice of terrain and intègre des petites structures lui permettant de se retrouver au coeur de la fabrique de l'architecture et du chantier, lieu d'échange, de savoir-faire, de questionnements, d'apprentissage de la matérialité du bâti. The construction is for a positive and fundamental act. Engagé sur les questions sociales et culturallles, il fonde l’association Rêve en 2023. Il est membre du conseil d’administration de Poush. Face aux enjeux écologiques, il fait le choice de construct en structure bois.

ASSOCIATION RÊVE
L'agence a fondé l'association Rêve qui a pour objectif de soutenir et promotionuvoir l'art et l'architecture. Rêve a la volonté de créer des espaces d’expérimentation où l’architecture dialogue with d’autres disciplines artistiques. En 2022, Rêve produit « Le Pavillon ça joue ! » present in the gardens of the Villa Médicis in Rome in the cadre du festival des cabanes. In 2023, the accueille Alassan Diawara en résidence artistique en association avec Les Ateliers Médicis pour mener un travail de recherche et de creation auprès des travailleurs de l’ESAT Les Lozaits-Seguin à Villejuif. La même année, elle crée l’exposition « Ça bouge en ville ! Sport and architecture for the main », on the site Le Corbusier de Firminy (42), presented in 2024 with the French Institute in a format adapted to its different locations in Stuttgart.

 

Release FE Consulting, Paris