Studio tutor: Katrien Vertenten (NOMOS Architectes)

Assistant: Cécile-Diama Samb

The Extramuros studio addresses community issues within the future eco-neighbourhood of Plan-les-Ouates: Les Cherpines. Faced with the upheaval of our lifestyles following the COVID-19 pandemic, shared spaces for the inhabitants of collective housing are a necessity to help increase the quality of life in an urban environment. They also represent an opportunity to reinforce the notions of community and belonging that foster a neighbourhood spirit.

The idea behind the studio is to approach interior design from a different angle by deliberately standing outside the home and focusing on the collective spaces that surround it. To do so, the studio focuses on the notions of transition and threshold that mark out the trajectory of the inhabitants before they arrive in their private sphere. These spaces of transition and circulation do not always respond to defined functions, but represent vectors of great architectural, experiential, social and identity research.