The relationship between building height and sustainability is a subject that currently occupies the minds of many city planners. This is because the city cannot expand infinitely into the landscape. In France, however, "village" urbanism seems to be adamantly resisting the vertical city, without truly considering its potential. One of the objectives of our project is to quell these hesitations.
Benefiting from an exception to the 37 meter
building height restriction in Paris, the tallest building of our project is 50
meters tall. Covered with plants from
wild natural areas, our tower is a tool for seeding: it allows the wind to spread class one
purebred seeds into the urban environment. Its height is a key element for its
capacity to regenerate urban biodiversity.
Its titanium cladding generates moiré patterns that give it a subtle,
fluctuating character. The tower is thus not only a tool for neighborhood
development but also a tool for development on a bigger scale as it distills a
"green" aura to the Parisian cityscape.
The green vegetal façade of the tower extends
over the center of the block to the surrounding buildings. These smaller buildings are simpler, with metal
facades in zinc and aluminum. They are placed
at the corners of the block, allowing for the pedestrian to stroll through a
calm, protected garden filled with low vegetation, as if outside of the city.
Technical information
PROGRAM
Design and construction of four residential buildings (18, 8, 10,
and 6 stories), nursery and retail.
CLIENT
Paris Habitat DPOs
TEAM
Maison Edouard François, BASE (landscape
architect), Ecole de Breuil (landscape architect), Arcoba, Arcadis
(engineering)
AREA
13 830m ² Net Floor Area
COMPETITION
2010
CONSTRUCTION
PERMIT 2012
DELIVERY
2016