A good room, for just about everybody, means a big room. A good apartment, above all else, means a big apartment. For NEMAUSUS 1, having a generous amount of space was an aesthetic precondition. In this project, basic but forgotten principles have been resurrected and clearly applied. Norms of social housing have been dropped in a bid to overcome the fate that leads to this churning out of apartments, all virtually identical, that only spread sadness – the sadness of a social condition that tends to confuse person and number, norm and quality, model and identity.

NEMAUSUS means housing of the simplest kind.

It means all through-apartments, with double outlooks and the potential for crosscurrents to properly ventilate the space – a significant comfort factor in a Mediterranean climate. It also means all the apartments have a big terrace and open out fully onto this terrace. These units always start with an open-plan area of close to 60 m2 that doesn’t separate kitchen and dining room; and they each have a big bathroom with a window and, at certain hours of the day, sun.

Lastly, NEMAUSUS means the architecture doesn’t stop at the front door: these apartments are all designed with specific spatial layouts and scenographies (duplex, views from the bedrooms into the living room), and a choice of components (stairs, partitions, doors). This flexibility and individuality ensure that the future tenant knows exactly where he lives. NEMAUSUS 1 apartments are completely distinct from each other (single-level, duplex, triplex). The typological array guarantees that offering a choice is also a mark of respect we can show the future occupant.

Jean Nouvel