自然總在建築的是與非、模糊與清晰、隱藏與明顯中交織滲透。自然並非建築意識形態或美學的不在場證明。現代性促使人類脫離了環境，我們必須重建人類與環境之間的連結，也讓夢想得以有成長茁壯的空間。

建築與城市之間的關係將被建築與自然之間的新關係取代。土地的過度都市化已演變成為關鍵問題且影響深遠；新文化與新人類的密度能協同發展並回應人們的新需求、新價值，我們需要給這樣的新都市文化一個機會。於此框架之下，將建築的壓迫感降到最低，乃至終能重新思考與其所處環境之間的新關係與和解可能。

Bastide Niel區具有典型的波爾多式地景，住在這裡緊鄰城市的歷史中心石城，又身處樹林、加龍河、草原等元素所構成得自然環境之中，還有工業時期遺留下來的破碎基地遺跡。Rue Hortense由連棟小屋組成，一屋一花園，藉由街邊或街心的花園，提出一種得以連結此處地景的生活方式。

本案保留了社區的自明性，作為串連周邊現存不同網格系統的契機，這些系統包含了把Bastide區及河流連在一起的規律植栽，還有Rue Hortense街上有花園的商家。

EKKO一案依循為了將自然光與街廓都市脈絡最大化所設計出來的精準形體，內含四十九個交錯的住宅單元，每個單元都有私人的戶外空間、街道層店面及屋頂，並有屋頂公用空間。外牆一律採陶土面磚，呼應Darwin的建築涵構與Rue Hortense商家的屋頂建材。

建築前成排的喬木、灌木、草本植物與爬藤展現盎然生機，形成一座立體的花園，自然延伸建築量體並融合為和諧的一體。這座立體花園是有生命的代謝體，發展成為提升舒適度與實用性，調控對環境影響及降低干擾的被動機制。

植栽同時扮演調節建物周遭微氣候的要角：酷暑時葉面的水氣蒸發有助於降溫，讓居住者感覺更舒適；冬日喬木落葉後，陽光便能順暢無阻穿透進入整個住宅空間。

立體花園裡還有為了尋求更豐沛的日照而向外開展的陽台，也是室內與室外之間厚實的多孔邊界，客廳往陽台延伸，讓陽台也成為寬敞而珍稀的居住空間。由五層有漂浮喬木的空間組成完整量體，屬於負責照顧其中一部分空間的每個人、每位居民，不論它被用來工作、用餐或放空…… 這裡不僅僅是冬日花園，也能順應不同季節將其特質渲染到住宅的內部空間；不只是純粹的造景或當地傳統形式，而是與自然相依相惜的親密關係，除了滿足視覺需求以外，也帶來令人欣喜的觸感乃至於愉悅的氣味等更豐富的感官體驗。

Nature has always managed to infiltrate architecture in a back and forth between the true and the false, the opaque and the legible, the hidden and the obvious. Nature is not an ideological or aesthetic alibi for architecture. Modernity has cut man off from his environment. We must recreate the links between man and his environment and also make room for his dreams.

The relationship between architecture and the city will be replaced by a new relationship between architecture and nature: the excessive urbanisation of most of the territory has become a vital issue and the stakes are high; a chance must be given to a new urban culture in which a new nature and a new human density are developed together so that they respond to the real needs and values of people. By working within this framework, architecture could minimize its imposing presence and finally think about its new relationship and rapprochement with its environment.

To live in the Bastide Niel district is to live in a Bordeaux landscape close to the historic city centre, the stone city, in a natural environment, it is to live in a wooded environment in close relationship with the water, along the Garonne, the fallow meadows, the fragments of small building plots, the imprint of the industrial past. The rue Hortense, made up of small row houses, thus proposes a way of living in connection with this landscape through the gardens in front of or in the heart of the street row: each house has a garden.

This project preserves the identity of this neighbourhood. It is an opportunity to link the different existing grids on the site: the grid of dense, rhythmic planting that links the Bastide district and its river, the plot of shops with flower gardens on Rue Hortense, etc.

EKKO's project fits into the envelope of a precise form is imposed, which has been determined in order to maximise sunlight and respect the urban context of the block, it proposes 49 crossing dwellings, each with a private outdoor space, a shop on the ground floor and a roof top coupled with a shared common room on the roof. All the envelopes are made of white terracotta cladding, echoing the built context of Darwin and the roofs of the shops on rue Hortense.

The planted strip at the front of the block has become a three-dimensional garden with a profusion of tall trees, shrubs, grasses and mid-river climbers. It is the natural extension of the building volume, integrating perfectly with the silhouette of the built volume. This 3Dimensions garden, a real living metabolism, develops passive strategies to generate comfort, use, control of the impact on the environment and a reduction of nuisances.

The vegetation also plays an important role in regulating the hygrothermal air around the building. In hot weather, evapotranspiration from the surface of the leaves reduces the temperature and contributes to the comfort of the occupants. In winter, the deciduous vegetation allows sunlight to penetrate the heart of the dwellings.

The 3D garden is home to balconies, extending outwards like leaves fanning out in search of light. It is defined as a thick and porous boundary for living inside and outside, creating an extension of the living room towards the balcony, creating outdoor spaces of a rare generosity destined to become living spaces in their own right. The whole of this space is a large collective room planted on each of its five levels with floating trees. It belongs to everyone and each of the inhabitants manages a part of it as a working space, a dining area or a relaxation area… More than a winter garden, it is a living space that adapts to the different periods of the year and imparts its qualities to the interior spaces of the dwellings, in an idea of companionship with nature that goes far beyond the strict question of landscape or the ideology of heritage, a sensual idea that adds to the demands of the visible the joy of the tactile, and even the pleasure of odours.