For the fourth time, the residence located at 48 avenue Eglé in Maisons-Laffitte opens its doors. This residence, composed of nearly sixty dwellings spread over eleven buildings, is the result of the inspiration of the architect Édouard Albert (1910-1968) and was born in the late 1950s, in the heart of the park of Maisons-Laffitte, just 25 kilometers from Paris.
Designed according to the innovative architectural principles of the Minimax house, presented by Édouard Albert in 1954 at the Salon des Arts Ménagers, this collective residence is distinguished by its ability to preserve its original conceptual integrity.
As described in Sébastien Cherruet’s book, Édouard Albert - A modern in tune with the arts, published by Éditions du Patrimoine, "The Minimax house has two sloping sides for the roof, but, unlike the traditional layout, these asymmetrical sides meet in a central gutter. The architect specifies that this cover is of the type butterfly-roof, well known to Anglo-Saxon customers, especially in Canada."
Despite the constraints related to the structure of the buildings, the architect favored a "flexible" approach to interior fittings, thus allowing an evolution of the interior configurations of the different dwellings according to the preferences and needs of the residents.
Through several dwellings, it is possible to observe how inhabitants have interacted with architecture over the decades: open and closed spaces to the outside, a diversity of interior volumes, a link with the front and rear gardens thanks to a through architecture, as well as plays of direct light or zenithal thanks to the facades and sheds.
These days dedicated to architecture offer an exceptional opportunity to (re)discover a great architect of the twentieth century, mainly recognized for his emblematic works such as the Croulebarbe Tower, also known as "Skyscraper n°1," built in 1961 in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, the Air France building in Orly, or the Jussieu campus, on which he worked at the time of his untimely death in 1968.
The energy transition at the Club du Parc began successfully with the renovation of the roof, covered with zinc on an 18 cm layer of wood wool insulation. This initiative resulted in a significant reduction, or 30% reduction, in heating requirements. The commitment to cleaner energy continues with the possibility of exploring the installation of a geothermal heating network.