Shifting blueprint
The Productive Remediation of the Dunlopillo Site
Mantes la jolie - FR
Context
Europan 18
competition proposal
Team
Despo Panayidou
Area
11 ha
Today, the site stands as an urban enclave, its skeleton of buildings and machinery a relic of industrial glory, accompanied by a remnant of a workers’ city to the south. It is a highly polluted, mineral island, disconnected from major urban routes and the beautiful landscape of the Seine valley and its lakes.
Schifting blueprint envisions not an erasure of this past, but a productive remediation, a sober, responsible, and local revitalization that builds upon this unique legacy.
The goal is to transform this site into a new destination founded on its identity, heritage, and existing resources; a place where productive development and quality of life merge to form a creative, accessible, active, and landscaped neighbourhood for all residents of Mantes-la-Jolie.
The first phase (0-5 years) will focus on immediate activation through temporary uses, allowing the public to reclaim the space while initial renovations and targeted decontamination commence.
The second phase (5-10 years) involves the main deconstruction and decontamination effort, the construction of the new workers’ city, and the creation of the underground parking.
In the third phase (10-15 years), we will build the «Magasins Généraux» and «Ateliers du Lac» using salvaged materials and develop the primary landscape connections.
The final phase (15-20 years) will complete the vision with the renovation of the «Grande Usine» for major economic players and the construction of the «Coopérative» building, cementing the site’s new identity.
The architectural expression will celebrate the industrial character of the site. Reuse is our guiding principle. Steel structures from demolished halls will form the skeletons of new buildings. The facades will feature a mix of salvaged and new bricks, while recovered wood and stone will also find new life. New roof designs will pay homage to the iconic industrial sheds, bathing interiors in natural light and preserving the site’s unique atmosphere.
Ultimately, this project offers a rational, contextual, and responsible urban strategy. It is a remediation that reactivates the essential spirit of the site, transforming a polluted brownfield into a symbol of renewal; a vibrant, integrated and productive district that benefits the city of Mantes-la-Jolie and its inhabitants.
Recompose: We will preserve and magnify the site’s powerful industrial identity, weaving it into a new urban fabric that hybridises productive and residential functions to create a living, autonomous neighbourhood. The project will foster a vibrant economic ecosystem by offering a diverse range of spaces, from 50m² for artisans to 1500m² for established mid-size companies and by encouraging collaboration between the private sector, educational institutions like UVSQ, and local associations. The industrial heritage will be honored by conserving symbolic elements like tanks and overhead networks and tracing the outlines of former buildings in the new public spaces.
Reconnect: A key objective is to break the site’s isolation. We will integrate new connections, carefully managing logistical flows while prioritising soft mobility for residents and visitors. Logistics will be concentrated on the northern half of the site, while general traffic will be excluded from it and a 200-space underground car park will serve inhabitants, workers, and visitors. To ensure seamless integration with the city, bus lines D and G will be extended to the site, and the active mobility network will be connected to existing routes, promoting pathways along the Gassicourt lake. Critically, we will reconnect the site to its natural surroundings by creating two landscaped, ecological corridors that link the adjacent lakes.
Remediate: Our approach is rooted in a circular and integrated process of transformation. This begins with a deep commitment to the environment by managing polluted soils on-site through bioremediation techniques. Excavated earth will be sorted, clean soil revitalised for new landscaping and contaminated soil treated and reused. This principle of reuse extends to the buildings themselves; materials from deconstructed structures will be salvaged and incorporated into new constructions, managed from a central workshop in the renovated «Usine des Communs.»