Portes Métropolitaines de Bordeaux

This project sets out to rethink the role of the city gates: no longer treating them as mere transit or service zones for the city’s inner core, but as urban territories in their own right, capable of becoming hospitable, coherent and meaningful destinations for people. At the initiative of Bordeaux Métropole, 51N4E is conducting a major study to transform six key gateways along the metropolitan ring road, with a dedicated focus on two of them: Porte Aéroport and Porte InnoCampus.

These areas combine infrastructure, housing, productive activities, universities, and landscape systems, often juxtaposed rather than coming together. In Bordeaux, where demographic pressure, economic restructuring, land scarcity and climate adaptation are pressing issues, the Portes Métropolitaines hold enormous potential to respond to these challenges.

Built around a multidisciplinary team, our approach places strong emphasis on dialogue with local actors, a temporal strategy adaptable to political calendars, available resources, and the rhythms of day and night, as well as a strong commitment to ecological and social dynamics. The study also aims to build connections between Bordeaux and other European cities working on similar challenges, such as Lyon, Antwerp and Luxembourg, where 51N4E guided similar studies. Operationally, the methodology combines on-site residencies, workshops with local stakeholders, sociological fieldwork, mobility assessments, environmental analyses and densification strategies combined with legal and financial tools.

Following our previous “50,000 logements” study, 51N4E is renewing its commitment to designing adaptive, relational and resilient environments for Bordeaux.