START-Ivry: Form follows life
Rethinking housing from the inside out: a new generation of social and private housing, where the dwelling adapts to its inhabitants and not the other way around
START sets out to redefine housing culture. It rejects the current standardisation of housing production and responds to the growing diversity of contemporary lifestyles. It rethinks housing from the inside —the resident — restoring the central role of the floorplan, and boldly reversing the conventional process by starting with architecture: the architect is selected first; developers are then invited to compete. START embodies a genuine paradigm shift.
START stands for Social, Transformable, Affordable and Resilient Typologies — housing solutions that respond to modern life. Located in Ivry-sur-Seine, a city historically linked to architectural innovation, START is a manifesto and a demonstration that better housing can be achieved without increasing surface and within constrained budgets.
At the confluence of the Seine and Marne rivers, the 5 buildings enjoy an exceptional site, comprise 288 units– including social, intermediate and market housing – and shape a new skyline for the city.
Bio STAR is a practice dealing with architecture in all its forms.
Founded in Rotterdam in 2006 by Beatriz Ramo, STAR works across all phases, with awards in France, the Netherlands, China, Iceland, Lebanon, Norway and Spain, plus distinctions from Architizer, Azure or the 2024 ARVHA Prize.
Projects range from The Cabanon—7 m² mini-apartment in Rotterdam—to a Ferris-wheel station in Elche. The past decade centres on adaptable housing, culminating in START-Ivry (288 homes) in Greater Paris. Published in The New York Times, El País, Arquitectura Viva, Casabella, AA Files, or Domus.
Other prizes Selection Awards 2024-2025: Project: ”START-Ivry” -RTF Rethinking the Future Awards 2025–Winner in “Woman in Construction” -DNA Paris Design Awards 2025–Winner in “Housing” -Houzee Awards 2025–Platinum Winner in “Social Housing”, “Multi-Family Housing”, “Affordable Housing”, “Accessible and Inclusive Housing”, “Urban Landscape Design”, “Courtyard & Patio Design” -BCIA British Construction and Infrastructure Awards 2025–Finalist in “International Project” (ongoing) -AZ Awards 2025–Jury + Public Vote Winner in “Urban Design - Built developments” -Architizer A+Awards 2025-Special Mention in “Affordable Housing” -ARVHA Prize Women in Architecture 2024–Winner in “Original work” -GADA Award (RTF) 2024–RUNNER-UP in “Housing (over 5 floors)” -Défis Urbains 2024–Winner in “Ways of Living (Modes d’habiter)” -Classement des Promoteurs2024–Winner in “Réversibilité / modularité » Project: “The Cabanon” -DNA Paris Design Awards 2025–Winner in “Small Scale project” -MIX Interior Awards 2025–Winner/Project of the year in “Living Interiors” -Houzee Awards 2025–Gold Winner in “Small Space & Apartment Design”, “Custom Exceptional Residential Design Achievements” -FRAME Awards 2025–Winner of the Month over all categories (ongoing for the year award) -Callwey “Best of Interior”-Best 50 projects 2025–Nominated (ongoing) -ARC25 Awards–Longlisted in “Not Moving but Renovating” -ADC Awards 2024–Platinum Winner in “Unique & Other interiors” -ARCHELLO Awards 2024–Public Vote Winner in “Small Project of the Year” -Architectenweb Awards 2024–Winner in “Interior of the Year” in NL -Masterprize Awards 2024-Honourable Mention in “Architectural Design / Small Architecture”
