Bordeaux 50000 - Mérignac-Soleil Masterplan

In 2012, OMA has been selected by the Communauté Urbaine de Bordeaux (CUB) to develop a strategy for the introduction of 50,000 new housing units across 27 communes. The strategy will seek ways to achieve density, mixed use and accessibility for the new housing over a territory of 550km2, allowing Bordeaux to absorb population growth in a sustainable way. At the same time, the scheme must develop density without being necessarily urban. But how do you support 120,000 new inhabitants in 50,000 new homes within a territory already deeply impacted by urban sprawl, an urbanization strategy of 40 years old, which advocates cars and private housing as a standard – even though public transport is improving at the same time? And how do you do this in a way that will lead to sustainable rather than destructive and expansive growth?