VIRTUAL Barcelona

Abstract

The workers’ housing estates belonging to the Michelin company are now part of the social history of Clermont-Ferrand (France) and of mass housing in Europe; the 1920s houses were listed in 2016 as “garden cities” (Plan local d’urbanisme), even though they do not correspond precisely to their characteristics. These houses were sold at the end of the 1980s, either to social landlords or to their residents, without any specific specifications regarding the preservation of the built form. The 1,200-home La Plaine housing estate is one of the few to house a modest homeowner population, Michelin retirees, young households, Turkish and North African communities, and has not become gentrified. The houses have been enlarged by self-builders, sometimes to the point of obscuring the original layouts, which nevertheless enhance the value of a neighbourhood in a sensitive urban area (ZUS). These transformations have turned the site into a classic housing estate. Since 2016, when the PLU was approved, the town has been keen to ensure that the Michelin architectural identity is preserved: maintaining the built form is not coercive, but is the subject of negotiations with the town’s consultant architect; it is based on the relationship of trust that the latter establishes with local project managers, who act as intermediaries with the local communities. While our team has worked on a number of Michelin housing estates, this paper would be the result of an investigation into an operational practice that is rare in France, combining respect for the legislative framework and collective creation to maintain this social heritage.