Five architects: Jérôme Darnault, Gilbert Pedra, Michel Retbi, Fabrizio Samaritani and Jean-Pierre Sirvin oppose the destruction of buildings in Mirail, as part of the Toulouse Métropole project. They recommend the rehabilitation of these buildings designed in the 1960s by the Candilis-Josic-Woods team. The group is supported by Christian Combes, president of the Council of the Order of Architects of Occitanie, Jean-Philippe Vassal, winner of the 2021 Pritzker Prize (Nobel for architecture) and Drina Candilis, daughter of Georges Candilis.
“You know at the time, these Candilis buildings were a real architectural revolution,” testifies Michel Retbi. There are still three years, they were moreover an important subject of study at the School of architecture ”. High-quality housing: “Bright, spacious, with a double orientation, a good height of ceiling, without vis-à-vis, crossing and obtained from a facade with loggia: an asset since the covid, continues Gilbert Pedra. An aspect that already responded at the time to the recommendations of the Gerometti-Leclercq report, on the quality of housing, released in September 2021, at the request of Ms. Emmanuelle Wargon, Minister Delegate to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, in charge of Housing. The logic of Candilis was the well-being of the inhabitants and not profitability. Without forgetting the solidity. The proof is that the concrete load-bearing structures withstood the AZF explosion ”.

“Everyone knows that social problems do not disappear with the destruction of buildings”

In the Messager building in Reynerie, set to be demolished in 2017, a few families still live. As long as they are present, the demolition will not be able to be done: “There is still time to stop this mess, underlines this collective and to start on new bases taking into account the renovation, the lives of the people as well as the aspect. ecological: destruction and reconstruction represent a disaster for the carbon footprint. Why waste without counting? “Gilbert Pedra notes:” To justify this destruction, we advance the drug problem. But everyone knows that the regular interventions of the police move the points of deal from one district to another. There is therefore no need to destroy buildings to combat this scourge ”. Another point raised by the team. Among the planned destruction, some buildings are part of a real architectural heritage. According to them, a reflection must be done with a view to a rehabilitation like the bars and home visits in Bordeaux and Paris. “We can reinvent. Architects can propose solutions, in particular through a competition. “You know, they recall, a lot of architects were not informed of these demolitions. But it is never too late to do well ”.

“This renovation is an opportunity to improve the supply of housing”

At the City of Toulouse, Gaétan Cognard, district mayor and delegate for city policy, recalls his attachment to the architecture of Candilis at Mirail. In Reynerie, this rehabilitation concerns five residences, ie 836 housing units from the Candilis heritage. According to this elected official, this renovation is an opportunity to improve the daily life of the inhabitants while preserving the architectural elements of the district. “This demolition will develop the housing supply by creating small collectives or individual houses, adapted to the demand of residents wishing to continue living in the neighborhood. It will also attract new services (nursing home, shops). Finally, it will open up and open up the district to the rest of the city and create a link between Reynerie and the other districts which surround it ”.

The collective of architects calls on sisters and brothers to join it on: [email protected]

File published in the review Construire! n ° 46 in Toulouse le Mirail contact: [email protected]