START was conceived as a new benchmark for affordable housing while addressing a double challenge: reinventing the residential tower—an often-criticised typology in France—and creating exceptional, innovative apartments. START offers a vital alternative to the paradox of standardised housing in an era of unprecedented household diversity.
START (22,863m²) comprises 5 towers and accommodates 288 apts (34% social housing). The volumes are designed to maximize light, multiply orientations and allow for numerous apt configurations. The division of each into three parts, generates three readings of the heights: the Street, the City and the Sky.
START, Ivry-sur-Seine, Greater Paris A new generation of social and affordable private housing in France.
Located at the confluence of the Seine and Marne rivers, START-Ivry stands just beyond the Paris city limits, within the Grand Paris metropolitan area. It carries forward Ivry’s legacy of pioneering architecture, reinforcing the city’s reputation for innovative and forward-thinking housing.
START is the built realisation of our vision for affordable, adaptable housing—challenging outdated design dogmas, confronting the standardisation of typologies, and offering resilient, inclusive living environments.
Today, households and housing have evolved along separate paths, resulting in a disconnect between domestic spaces and the people who inhabit them.
-Households have become increasingly diverse—single parents, blended families, flat-sharing, unemployed young people, seniors requiring care, cohabitations, remote workers, young adults temporarily returning to live at home…
-Housing, meanwhile, has followed a different path—shaped by tight regulations and developer priorities. The result is a park of standardised apartments: rigid “containers” defined by rules and budgets rather than real-life needs.
Today’s society—with all its contradictions and diversity—cannot be reflected in the homogeneity of a standardised floorplan
This conviction inspired START: a project that places inhabitants and their lifestyles at the centre, creating housing that adapts to life’s changes, especially for the most vulnerable. The home becomes a support for their personal growth.
START also supports interactions between its residents through shared spaces—balancing individual and collective life.
The project proposes a wide range of typologies and solutions, from studios to four-bedroom units, including multiple intermediate types. We developed a set of Housing Principles: for Adaptability, for Quality, and for a “Good Tower.” This level of flexibility and adaptability is crucial, particularly for vulnerable households. These principles are applied across all apartments, regardless of their pricing model—whether social or free market.
Whether accommodating family growth, divorce, ageing parents, new work patterns, multigenerational living, temporarily hosting an unemployed adult child, or optimising space after children leave home, these principles aim to create truly adaptable, “lifetime homes” that support residents through diverse life transitions.
Examples of our Adaptability Principles include:
-Divisible 3- or 4-bedroom apartments
-Super-adaptable 2-bedroom apartments
-Groupable studios or 1-bedroom apartments
-Annex room (alcove) – a small additional space
-Modular living room – a temporary extra ‘room’
-Plug – closable balcony
-Co-residence – shared housing solution
-Movable kitchen – enabling an extra room
-Future kitchenette – for added autonomy
-Future functions – bathroom, WC, etc.
Beyond individual adaptability, START creates a sense of community through shared spaces. A dedicated ‘band’ of communal areas and terraces, located on the 7th floor of all buildings, enhances social interactions. These turquoise carved-out spaces articulate the towers’ scale and introduce a horizontal rhythm to the volumes.
The volumes of the five towers are meticulously designed to maximize natural light, optimize views, and allow for diverse apartment configurations. Each tower is visually divided into three segments, creating a layered perception of height: the Street, the City, and the Sky.
The façades follow a “narrative” logic, reflecting the interior functions while responding to their urban context. Window jambs are color-coded based on their internal use, loggia colours distinguish the three different sections of the tower, and the exposed and reddish-painted concrete draws inspiration from Ivry’s metropolitan surroundings, and in particularly its pioneering brutalist architecture.
The façade design embraces both narrative and contextual approaches, ensuring integration with the cityscape—the Seine River, the surrounding neighbourhood, and the broader urban environment—while simultaneously reflecting the internal life of the homes.
Both a manifesto and a proof of concept, START demonstrates that we can build far better than prevailing standards—without increasing surface area, while meeting regulations, and within a modest budget.
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I-THE NEED FOR SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE HOUSING
II-SOCIAL DIVERSITY and INCLUSIVITY
III-BETTER HOUSING QUALITY WITHOUT INCREASING PRICE OR SURFACES
IV-PRICES / SURFACES
I-THE NEED FOR SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE HOUSING
There is much discussion about environmental performance, but in housing, we must also emphasize “habitable performance.” What is the point of an apartment perfectly adapted to the climate if it does not adapt to its inhabitants?
A building today is requested to meet numerous environmental certifications. While these scores dominate the discourse, they often overshadow human needs, evolving lifestyles, and household diversity. Current housing still fails to adapt to the realities of modern living. The obsession with measurable performance often side-lines critical but intangible social aspects such as:
• Household evolution and adaptability.
• New and emerging living arrangements.
• Practical, functional spaces that serve real-life needs.
START-Ivry tackles this challenge by designing apartments that enhance quality, functionality, and resilience, even within a reduced surface area.
II-SOCIAL DIVERSITY and INCLUSIVITY:
START has strong commitment to social diversity. Social, intermediate rental and free-market apartments are combined in the same building and often also on the same floor.
The total distribution of apartments is as follows:
-94 social apartments (33.3%) sold in “VEFA” (Sale before completion) to Valophis and Coop’Ivry.
-39 intermediate rental apartments “LLI” (13%) sold to IN’LI housing corporation
-155 apartments (53%) available for the free-market
START apartments are conceived to accommodate the entire range of household types from today society: from nuclear families, to single parents, all types of co-habitations, single persons, etc..
III-BETTER HOUSING QUALITY WITHOUT INCREASING PRICE OR SURFACES
Beyond the adaptability and resilience of START apartments (see “Adaptability Principles” mentioned earlier), their spatial and functional qualities are ensured by the Quality Principles:
8 Quality principles:
-Double and triple apartment orientation
-Natural light and ventilation for kitchens
-Natural light and ventilation for bathrooms
-Flexible kitchen layouts – open, closed, or semi-open
-Maximized storage solutions
-Minimal or ‘active’ corridors
-Spatial richness – multiple perspectives, continuous spaces, extended views
-Private balconies or terraces
For example, in START:
-88% of the apartments have double orientation, 30% of which have triple orientation.
-77% of kitchens have at least one window.
-50% of bathrooms, showers, or WCs have a window (in some cases, you can shower with a view of the Eiffel Tower).
-25% of apartments include an ‘alcove’ (extra small room with window and heating), and an additional 70% have the option to close off an alcove in the future—allowing nearly all apartments to increase functionality over time.
-The window area is 30% of the façade—approximately 35% more than a standard project.
-The tower depth is about 14 meters—40% less than the current standard towers (e.g., La Chapelle in Paris).
-254 of the 288 apartments offer views towards the Seine and/or the Marne River.
IV-PRICES / SURFACES:
Construction cost (2019):
-Towers 1-2-3-4: €1,580/m²
-Tower 4: €1,750/m²
-Total of €43.3 million (exc. VAT).
Sales Prices (2019):
The apartments remained highly affordable, with three price types:
-Very Controlled Price*: €3,327/m² excl. tax (SHAB, including parking, fixed price)
-Controlled Price: €3,638/m² excl. tax (SHAB, including parking, average price)
-Free-Market Price: €4,407/m² excl. tax (SHAB, including parking, average price)
*40% of the apartments available for purchase were sold between January 14, 2019, and July 14, 2019, at controlled or very controlled prices, prioritizing residents or workers of Ivry-sur-Seine, subject to income conditions.
The total surface area of START is 22,863 m² from which 19,700 m² are residential and 3,163 m² are 14 flexible commercial spaces in the ground floor
START counts with 2,119 m² of communal terraces distributed at various heights in the 5 buildings and 2,600 m² of ground-level newly created public pedestrian areas.
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A_ARCHITECTURE FROM THE INSIDE OUT
B_FULLY SUSTAINABLE STRATEGY
C_THE “INVERSE” METHOD
D_PRIZES
A_ARCHITECTURE FROM THE INSIDE OUT
The urban form of START was guided by what we call “the inside”—the habitat itself. As Le Corbusier believed, “good housing is the foundation of a just society.” We began with this premise, crafting architectural forms that ensure both quality and diversity of typologies.
The slender volumes are carefully designed to optimise natural light, maximise orientations and views, and support a wide range of apartment configurations. At the same time, the sculpted geometry creates a dynamic urban silhouette, framing vistas of Ivry’s landscape and establishing a new housing landmark that dialogues with the Seine.
The façades of START follow a narrative logic, their identity shaped by the life unfolding within. Guided by the “inside”—the habitat—they reveal interior richness through varied openings and a unified colour palette, turning the façade into a vivid expression of the building’s soul.
B_FULLY SUSTAINABLE STRATEGY
-The Missing Dimension:
A building may comply with many environmental certifications, yet still fall short of responding to the realities of contemporary life. START introduces a long-overlooked dimension in housing: the inhabitant and their evolving, often unpredictable, spatial needs.
A new child, a divorce, a blended family, remote work, an adult child returning home, a live-in caregiver, empty bedrooms after children leave—these are real-life scenarios that housing must accommodate, yet they are rarely considered in apartment design. Instead, regulations and quantitative metrics—budget, energy consumption, etc.—continue to define the standard.
-Redefining Housing Quality:
By placing the inhabitant at the core of the design and developing a set of Housing Principles that address both current and future needs, START sets a fully sustainable strategy—one that integrates social, economic, and environmental dimensions. For example:
1. Divisible Larger Apartments (≥ 3 bedrooms)
-Social: Dwelling adapts to the changing spatial needs
-Environmental: A new unit can be created without additional resources
-Economic: Owners generate income by renting or selling the new unit
All technical and legal provisions are integrated in the building and legal structure
2. Super-Adaptable 2-Bedroom Apartments
-Designed for diverse cohabitation models, ex.:
-Couples + ageing parents
-Seniors + caregivers
-Parents + returning adult children
-Seniors + students
-This adaptability reduces the need for one-bedroom units and increases the long-term resilience of the housing stock.
-Harmonious cohabitation is ensured through non-adjacent bedrooms, a 2nd bathroom, and pre-equipped shafts for future kitchenets for extra autonomy
3. The “Alcove” – A Smarter One-Bedroom Solution
-To better serve:
– single parents,
-divorced parents with alternating custody
-remote workers
START introduces a 1-bedroom + alcove typology. The alcove is a small room (6-7m²) with a window, heating, and electricity, attached to the living room but separated by sliding or movable partitions. It functions as:
✔ A small extra bedroom
✔ A home office
✔ A flexible space for changing needs
This innovation delivers the functionality of a two-bedroom apartment while reducing the surface area by 20%, making housing more affordable, especially for single-parent households, nearly 40% of whom live below the poverty line.
-Environmental Performance
Beyond spatial adaptability, START also delivers strong environmental results:
-20% reduction in energy consumption compared to current standards
-Use of 20% low-carbon concrete, which serves both as structure and façade, reducing material use and embodied carbon.
C_THE “INVERSE” METHOD
The Inverse Method is the unique procurement method implemented for the development of this project. This method was key for the success of the project.
The Inverse Method reorganises the traditional roles and influence of architects and developers, placing the architect—and therefore architectural quality—at the centre of the production process.
The goal is to improve housing conditions by prioritizing design, adaptability, and affordability.
This pioneering approach challenges conventional housing development practices.
The Traditional Method vs. The Inverse Method
In the Traditional Method, the municipality selects a developer, who arrives with predefined design prescriptions, and then organizes a competition among three or four architects, whose primary role is to fit standardized apartment layouts into a pre-established volume designed by the municipality’s urban planner. Architects are then judged based on rendered images of their (mainly) façade designs.
START-Ivry was conceived as a model for a new paradigm in housing production, demonstrating that exceptional and resilient social and private housing can be achieved within a highly constrained budget. Recognizing that such ambition could not be realised through traditional means, the municipality adopted the Inverse Method—believing that “a different result could only be achieved through a different procedure.”
In the Inverse Method, the municipality first selects an architectural team based on a methodological proposal rather than visual renderings, collaborating with them and community representatives to define volumes, housing principles, and design strategies. After establishing a strong foundation, four developers—each partnered with a construction company—compete in five months of collaborative workshops, replacing a traditional bidding process. The winning developer is chosen not for the highest financial bid but for presenting the most robust methodological plan aligning with our housing principles.
A More Collaborative & Innovative Approach
This process transformed the usual power dynamics in housing production. Developers, who are traditionally in control, found themselves competing on new terms, leading to a more open-minded approach toward design innovation.
The energy and creativity generated during this collaborative process were remarkable. Ultimately, the Inverse Method proved that it is possible to deliver exceptional, adaptable, and resilient housing—all within a strict budget and existing regulations.
What people say about the Inverse Method:
“This project would never have seen the light without the method orchestrated by SADEV94.
SADEV94 really dared to inverse the roles in this project; SADEV94 put 4 developers in competition for the same project. It was not the developer who set the outlines of the project. Here, it was the architect who was given this power and this is what made it possible to truly translate the needs of the inhabitants into the floorplan, with all the stakeholders in the project. This is a truly unprecedented approach in today’s France.”
SADEV94 – Activity report, 2016.
“Here, a change of logic, the architect is invited to develop this model in their own way. Based on their proposals, four developers are currently competing and one of them will be selected. Because, behind these reflections, there is a laboratory project that will come to fruition in reality’, explains the architect”
Libération, Sibylle VIncendon, journalist, 28 December 2015
COMPLETELY REVERSE THE HOUSING PRODUCTION CHAIN
“The municipality/SADEV94 chose the architect, and together they selected the developer via a competition.” A demanding procedure, certainly, but which “put the architect back at the centre.”
Romain Marchand, deputy mayor in charge of development. Does he fear failure? “Impossible. This project does not cost any more than another Ivry Confluences program and comes out with controlled prices.”
L’Humanité, Pierre Duquesne, journalist, November 2016
D_PRIZES
In recent months, START has received several national and international awards, recognising both its architectural quality and its strong social and conceptual foundations. Among these, one stands out as particularly meaningful for us: the French National ARVHA Prize for Women Architects.
In November 2024, Beatriz Ramo, director of STAR strategies + architecture, was awarded the ARVHA Prize in the category Œuvre Originale for START-Ivry.
This prize holds a double significance: it celebrates not only the architectural and social innovation of the project, but also offers meaningful recognition of the work of women architects—a contribution that too often remains underrepresented.
The award honours the nine years of research that preceded the construction of START, and its transformation into a bold, experimental and inclusive residential complex.
“What I find truly interesting about this project is that, even before it became a project, it was already a strategy.
A genuinely sustainable project today can only be achieved through well-defined strategies implemented both before and during its development.
We had the opportunity to deeply engage with the extensive research conducted by the architect over the nine years between the project’s inception and its completion. And that is fascinating.”
— Ludovica di Falco, Winner ARVHA Prize 2023
Award Ceremony, November 2024
More details about this prize and other project’s recognition in the media and professional circles can be found in the following pages.
-Longlisted in the AZURE Awards 2025 in the « Urban Design – Built developments » category – ongoing
Organiser: AZ Awards by AZURE Magazine
Selected: 6
March 2025
https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/az-awards-2025-the-longlist-for-architecture-urbanism-and-landscape/?utm_source=AZA%20site&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=Longlist+Gala
-WINNER of the Prize Femmes d’Architecture in the category « Œuvre original »
Organiser: ARVHA, Association for Research about City and Housing
November 2024
https://www.femmes-archi.org/prix-2024/laureates-2023
-WINNER of the Prize Défis Urbains in the category « Modes d’habiter »
Organiser: Innovapresse
November 2024
https://www.defisurbains.fr/edition-2024/laureats-2024.html
-WINNER of the Prize Classement des Promoteurs in the category « Réversibilité / modularité »
Organiser: Innovapresse
June 2024
https://www.classementdespromoteurs.com/laureats-2024.html?utm_source=newsletter_620&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=decouvrez-les-projets-laureats
-RUNNER-UP / 3rd Place at the GADA Award 2024 in the category « Housing (over 5 floors) – Built »
Organiser: RTF – Re-Thinking the Future
November 2024
