Occupying an entire block on the bank of the Canal de l’Ourcq, the project is a mixed and complex ensemble. The focus is on project layout and the role of a stand-alone block in relation to the open landscape of the canal and Paris’s “Petite Ceinture”. Here we have a fresh interpretation of the Z-plan, that spatial archetype of modern building. The three main segments form a Z generated by the canal’s geometry. Within this arrangement two supplementary buildings form less imposing complements to the main structure – a layout which establishes a rock-steady relationship between the whole and the parts, as well as underscoring the clear independence of each element. The reinvention of an iconically modern architectural trope both thwarts the censure it usually attracts and enables thorough integration into a specific cityscape born of early industrial modernity, notably through its acknowledgement and utilisation of the canal as a potent industrial infrastructure. Ultimately, this is a configuration that offers each housing unit maximal presence in a unique setting.