Belvedere Saint Christophe, Cergy-Pontoise Building, French Housing, Residential Property France

Belvedere Saint Christophe : Cergy-Pontoise Building

Belvedere Saint Christophe France design by Ricardo Bofill : Architecture Information

post updated 14 January 2022

Architect : Ricardo Bofill – ‘Taller de Arquitectura

English text (scroll down for Spanish):

Location: Belvedere Saint Christophe, Cergy-Pontoise, northwest of Paris, France

Date built: 1986

Belvedere Saint Christophe Cergy-Pontoise

The Belvedere St. Christophe is the sublimation of years of research and innovation in the social housing sector. The units have become perfectly efficient functional layouts with double orientation to optimize sun exposure, cross-ventilation and view variation.

The elements are geometrically assembled with a classical theatrical opulence that evokes the magical sacralization of a democratic urban space built with government subsidies. The grandiosity of the main colonnade inspired by the work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, reflects a stunning classical sense of balance, harmony and human proportion; the scale moves rapidly from the individual to the collective in a grandiose civil landmark.

The horizontal axis are perfectly choreographed to bring the pedestrian into the plaza. Then, a major monolith -the public Belvedere by Dany Caravan- leads the way to the river Loise.

The monumental character of the plaza has turned it into a meeting place for the residents and the venue for all kinds of recreational activities. The programme includes three hundred eighty apartments and commercial establishments.

Belvedere Saint Christophe – Building Information

Program 380 apartments and commercial establishments
Ingineering: Yves Serra
Concrete: J. P. Aury
Client foyer du fonctionnaire et de la famille (fff) and sodes Paris
Gross area 31,000 m2

image from Ricardo Bofill architects

Spanish text:

Belvedere Saint Christophe
1986, Cergy-Pontoise, Francia

Conjunto residential, situado en la Ciudad Nueva de Cergy-Pontoise, al Noroeste de París, sobre la meseta de Le Puiseux desde la cual se domina el valle del río Oise y se divisa la silueta del barrio parisino de La Défense. El edificio principal, en forma de columnata, surge en el punto de intersección del eje principal del nuevo barrio con el trazado de parques y jardines que desciende hasta el río.

En medio se levanta un obelisco, obra del escultor Dani Karavan, marcando, por la noche, el eje de los jardines mediante la proyección de un rayo laser. El carácter monumental de la plaza, completa antítesis de lo que hasta entonces habían sido las viviendas sociales, la ha convertido en el lugar de encuentro de los habitantes, lugar donde se celebran todas las actividades lúdicas y representativas de la nueva ciudad.

Las dos plazas interiores cuadradas que completan el conjunto, de escala más íntima, han sido tratadas como pequeños claustros ajardinados.

Belvedere Saint Christophe – Technical Information

Program 380 apartments and commercial establishments
Ingineering: Yves Serra
Concrete: J. P. Aury
Client foyer du fonctionnaire et de la famille (fff) and sodes Paris
Gross area 31,000 m2

Belvedere Saint Christophe image / information from Ricardo Bofill

Belvedere Saint Christophe architect : Ricardo Bofill

Location: Cergy-Pontoise, France, north west Europe

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