Jardins Secrets

“Jardins Secrets,” completed in March 2026 in the heart of Montpellier’s Cité Créative, brings together two residential developments - Théia (75 units) for Bouygues Immobilier and Opale & Sens (38 units) for Vestia Groupe - totaling 113 housing units designed in accordance with RE2020 standards, social diversity, and biodiversity principles. Built on the former site of the Infantry Application School, the project embraces a sensitive reconversion approach, balancing the site’s historical memory with a renewed Mediterranean urbanity.
Drawing inspiration from both Art Nouveau and contemporary biomimicry, the project asserts an organic architectural language in dialogue with the works of Victor Horta, Antoni Gaudí, and Émile Gallé. The façades unfold as bioclimatic shells, forming curved exoskeletons that filter light, channel prevailing winds, and create a tempered microclimate. This porous and protective envelope enhances thermal inertia, natural ventilation, and solar protection, while expressing a fluid aesthetic where form follows climate.
Integrated into a broader landscape continuity with Parc Montcalm, “Jardins Secrets” contributes to the creation of an urban ecological corridor. The project incorporates concrete environmental strategies, including rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling for closed-loop irrigation, low-carbon construction, high-performance insulation, and dense planting inspired by Mediterranean garrigue ecosystems. This approach promotes the formation of urban cooling islands through evapotranspiration while supporting local biodiversity. The development is powered by renewable energy, combining a biomass district heating connection with on-site photovoltaic panels.
The urban morphology balances density and porosity. Housing units are organized around a large open-ground courtyard conceived as a “vegetal sponge,” promoting water infiltration and thermal comfort. The project establishes strong connections with the surrounding neighborhood through public pedestrian pathways, shaded alleys, and planted patios. Elevated ground floors ensure residents’ privacy while respecting the scale of the surrounding built heritage.
Théia is developed in an L-shaped layout, offering dual-aspect or multi-oriented apartments extended by deep planted loggias or balconies inspired by the Haussmannian model. Accessible rooftops provide panoramic views, while shared parking is located underground to preserve natural ground permeability. Opale & Sens, more compact in form, is organized around a full-height central patio that ensures both ventilation and circulation, with planted loggias facing the courtyard and balconies along the street. Ground-floor units benefit from elevated private gardens.
Beyond environmental performance, “Jardins Secrets” embodies a regenerative vision of the Mediterranean city. The project fosters social interaction through shared spaces, restores ecological cycles (water, energy, biodiversity), and enhances climate resilience. It proposes a sensitive and contextual architecture in which aesthetics, comfort, and sobriety converge within a language inspired by living systems.

« JARDINS SECRETS »
A Duo of Bioclimatic Shells at Montpellier’s Cité Créative
THEIA - CLIENT : Bouygues Immobilier - 75 residential units (including 17 affordable ones)
OPALE & SENS - CLIENT : Vestia Groupe - 38 residential units (including 11 affordable ones)
TOTAL : 113 residential units (including 28 affordable ones – 25%)
TYPE : Competition, First Prize Winner in 2021
GFA : 5,364 m² 2,845 m² = 8,209 m²
LOCATION : Cité Créative, Jardins Secrets, Montpellier, France
STATUS : Built & Delivered in March 2026
AWARDS : Winner of “Silver Pyramid for Global Quality”, Real Estate Developers Federation of Occitanie‑Mediterranean & GIP – Group of Industrial Specifiers
CERTIFICATIONS : NF Habitat HQE - High Environmental Quality

ARCHITECTURE : Vincent Callebaut Architectures, Paris
STRUCTURE : André Verdier Ingénieur Conseil
MEP : Dexo
LANDSCAPE : Land'Act Paysages & Territoires
CONSTRUCTION COST : ACEEC
CONTROL OFFICE : Groupe Qualiconsult
CITY OF MONTPELLIER : Groupe SERM/SA3M Montpellier, Ville, Métropole et Ccas
URBAN PLANNER : West 8
MOEX THEIA : CIC DELMAS
MOEX OPALE & SENS : Rémi Bonnaure
MAIN CONTRACTOR : Sectp
FACADE : Rampa Prefa
PLANTERS : Atech
PLANT & TREE NURSERY : Sariviere
GREY WATER RECYCLING : Fgwrs