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Location
Located along the ring road, between the Pontet neighborhood and the university campus, not far from the Bersol business park, the Saige neighborhood has been incorporated into the joint development project for the Bordeaux Inno-Campus, approved in January 2020.
History
The Saige Formanoir neighborhood was developed on a former wine-growing estate, partly covered by woodland. Architects Jean Dubuisson, Francisque Perrier and André Kelderman were engaged by the state to build a new residential neighborhood to meet the needs of the Bordeaux conurbation. The programme included 900 housing units to accommodate 4,000 people. The original plan was composed of six low-rise, 3-storey buildings and eight 18-storey towers. This was completed with a shopping centre, public facilities and a sports field. The eight towers were arranged along a base bordered by roads. Rectangular in shape and arranged in a linear fashion, their facades are designed in pairs – two sides with loggias, and two lateral facades featuring vertical openings, the result of a meticulous design process. Built between 1970 and 1974, the neighborhood became a centre for Chilean refugees, as attested by the large mural alongside the sports field.
Subsequently built over the following decades, were one private hospital, three apartment buildings of social housing, one residence of subsidized student lodging, and one residence of affordable housing for assisted purchase.
Today, social housing provider Domofrance owns 1,412 of the development’s 1,500 units. For the last 10 years, a Right to Buy scheme has been available to residents of the six low-rise buildings.
Orientations
The Saige neighborhood benefits from a strategic location at the entrance to the university campus and to the business park, with immediate proximity to the hospital with its employment possibilities, and on the metropolitan tram line. The current urban project aims to develop social and urban diversity by means of a variety of housing and employment opportunities.
With regards housing, the aim is to de-densify the centre of the neighborhood, refurbishing much of the existing stock and developing a new offer near the tramway, on Avenue du Maréchal Juin and Avenue de Saige, to give the entrance into the neighborhood a renewed image. Demolition of three of the eight towers is currently planned (towers 03, 06 and 09).
Functional diversity and promoting economic development will be achieved by redeveloping the range of shops on the edge of the neighborhood, but also by developing active ground floors (services, non-profit, socially-orientated organizations, or local amenities), and the creation of a new urban axis, the ‘health lane’. This orientation also includes the change of use of Tower 08.
Finally, with a view to reinforcing social cohesion, important work on the public spaces is planned, with the creation of a greenway and the renovation of the sports field, redesigning the areas around the bottom of buildings, and developing active transport routes. A scheme for the improvement of public facilities (library, community centre, schools) has also been initiated.
Progress report
Guidelines for the urban renewal of Saige Formanoir, drawn up by the team at Atelier Ruelle, was approved on September 20, 2022 by all partners (Domofrance, Ville de Pessac, Bordeaux Métropole). The project targets the refurbishment of about 1,000 rental properties, and the construction of about 260 homes, of which 180 are destined for students and young professionals in Tower 08.
Rehousing is underway for residents of Building 11 and Tower 06. Preliminary studies for the neighborhood’s roads network are ongoing, and the urban project’s environmental assessment documents need to be submitted in February 2025. Removal of the fire-damaged parts of the shopping centre is scheduled for the very start of 2025.
A consultation procedure was initiated through regulatory consultation in 2020 and 2021, and still continues today, subject by subject, with the refurbishment of the low buildings (01, 02 and 11) in October 2024, and the public spaces and retail units planned between November 2024 and April 2025.
The project site
The project site is located in the centre of the Saige Formanoir neighborhood, on the east–west axis from the Pontet greenway to meet that of the university campus, encompassing all the existing towers in the centre. This axis must be reinforced by the design of a defining public space for all users of the neighborhood: the Greenway. Tower 08, the refurbishment of which is also to be studied, is located at the intersection with the north–south axis that runs from Hôpital Saint Martin to the Saige tram stop.
Initial ideas for programming
The aim of the greenway is to ensure the link between the Pontet greenway and that of the Saige woods, i.e. between the town centre of Pessac and the university campus. This missing link is vital in order to connect Saige Formanoir with the rest of the town, and gives the neighborhood a major new public space. Running through the middle of the Saige neighborhood, this greenway also connects the Théâtre de Verdure and the Esplanade, other important spaces in the neighborhood. It must not only ensure ecological continuity, but also provide efficient cooling islands and a range of uses (including growing food) to form a welcoming space, open to all.
Tower 08 currently contains 109 homes. Each floor is composed of six apartments: one studio/1-bedroom, two 1-/2-bedroom, one 2-/3-bedroom and one 3-/4-bedroom (due to a small hybrid 7.58m2 room). The ambition of the programme for Tower 08 is to contribute to the diversification of the housing stock and functions in the neighborhood by means of a major refurbishment. Thereby, business premises are planned for the lower floors, taking advantage of the presence of the private Saint Martin hospital and the nationally renowned university campus, as well as the visibility of the tower and its accessibility by public transport. This programme is completed by the development of housing for students and/or young professionals in response to the requirements of the university.
The ambitions of the project
The project reflects a wider ambition to redevelop the centre of the Saige Formanoir neighborhood. The refurbishment of Tower 08 and its change of use represents an important challenge in terms of its potential for replication across this remarkable 1970s built heritage. The economic viability of the refurbishment is essential, and the change of use was envisaged in part to meet this objective, benefitting from the prime location of the tower. Economic ambition is combined with a technical and environmental ambition to devise an innovative renovation and low-carbon design to enable the desired diversity of function. The aim is thereby to change the image of the structure, while respecting the heritage of the neighborhood.
If the replicability of the solutions proposed for Tower 08 could be guaranteed, this could call into question the delineation of the neighborhood’s future greenway. Nevertheless, the greenway constitutes an important opportunity for Pessac to create a physical continuity with its defining spaces. It is an opportunity to rethink the way the people of Pessac see the Saige neighborhood by changing its image. The greenway also calls into question the way the residents of Saige use the space around the base of the towers, in relation to its planned redesign. Broadly, the greenway brings nature into the neighborhood, and with it, questions of spaces for all to gather – men and women, young and old – and of biodiversity, of the preservation of living things, and cultural considerations in relation to the environment. The greenway will also need to be adaptable, so that it can be outlined and experienced without having to wait for the completion of building works.

The low-rise buildings (Credit: Paul Robin_DOMOFRANCE)

At the base of the towers (Credit: Paul Robin_DOMOFRANCE)

View of the towers (Credit: Paul Robin_DOMOFRANCE)

View of the towers 2 (Credit: Paul Robin_DOMOFRANCE)
• How can the face of the residential tower be reworked to give a new architectural image in line with use of renovation techniques that can be replicated on this type of building? How should the area around the foot of the tower be considered?
• How can an attractive, mixed-use development for the tower be devised to meet the needs of the businesses, students, young professionals and first-time buyers in this area of the conurbation? What services should be provided?
• How can the renovation of the Tower 08 constitute a showcase project for the area in terms of carbon footprint (reuse, energy efficiency, energy production, bio-sourced materials, etc.)?
• How can a range of uses be harnessed to make a landscaped area that is a place to be enjoyed by everyone, in a dynamic of establishing links with the surrounding area?