Architecture | L’Orange de Ris by Edouard François

This 60-residence apartment building, finished in 2013 by Edouard François acts as a flag for the Ris Orangis, a small Parisian suburb.

The architect states on his web site that the suburb was a “impenetrable jungle with rotting caravans and the ruins of  chateau.” The entrance to the city was indicated only by street signage.

So the architect used this building, once a police station, as a way to let commuters know when they were entering the suburb.

“It is not simply a building but a positive sign, voluntarily colorful and full of endearing materiality,” the architect states. “The building is not painted but instead is material — orange.”

The terracotta tile which gives the building its color and scaly appearance can be found on the roofs of houses and industrial hangars, according to the architect. The colorful portion is off the ground, sitting on top of of a parking garage.

François cops an attitude about halfway through his description of the project and starts trumpeting the superiority of his building when its compared to the surrounding neighborhood.

“Rich and desirable, it makes up for the surrounding seventies buildings that are as poor as toast with neither butter nor jam.”

Good burn, François. Get it? Burn? It’s funny because toast.

François seems to be taken with the fantasy of this apartment building as a fortress. He talks lovingly about the load bearing structures, the thick concrete walls, its shell-like facade and the spear-tipped fence. To sell the idea further, he stamped the building with his family’s coat of arms and talks about how sound resonates within the structure as though it were a “medieval dungeon.”

That’s precious.

We suppose all of this feudal design sensibility will come in handy when the “poor-as-toast” unwashed masses swarm out of their 1970s hovels and try sacking François’ apartment complex. They shouldn’t have too much trouble finding the place. It is, after all, a bright orange flag.

Bill Rodgers is a Contributing Editor at CFile.

Above images: L’Orange de Ris by Edouard François. Photographs courtesy of the architect.