In Paris, raising the height of buildings is an old practice. For example, all the apartment blocks built at the beginning of the 17thC on Place Dauphine have been raised, sometimes several times. This traditional way of developing Paris forms part of the history of the architecture and urban landscape of Paris. The practice slowed down in the mid-20thC with the enforcement of new regulations governing density which favoured demolition and re-construction, but has been slowly gaining ground again over the last fifteen years.
Today, the abolition of the density rule (Coefficient governing land occupancy, COS), introduced by the “Duflot” ruling in October 2013 and the access to housing and urban renewal, ALUR law in March 2014, have created a legislative context favourable to the renewal of this practice which will allow, in particular, the creation of new dwellings without increasing the land surface occupied by buildings. This could be an advantage in Paris, densely-built over a long period of time and keen to increase the amount of housing it can offer, while at the same time strengthening the presence of nature and encouraging the renovation of its old buildings to make the city more energy-efficient and less susceptible to urban heat-islands.
The modified Parisian Land-use Plan, PLU, launched in July 2014, forms part of this new movement proposing, as it does, to encourage housing construction. The abolition of the COS has paved the way for additional building rights on a great number of land plots in Paris where up to now the density regulations have prevented development on all the land surface areas permitted by the PLU volumetric regulations.
Contents:
- Preface
- Raising the height of buildings, a Parisian tradition
- Height-raising possibilities for buildings on streets
- Particular urban configurations
- Conclusion
- Appendices
