Kengo Kuma & Associates have been commissioned to design an "eco-luxury hotel" building perched above the railways of the Paris-Rive Gauche district. Part of a larger development, the building is meant to serve as a landmark for the neighborhood.
“In the context of repetitive volumes along the avenue, our design strategy was to create a sculptural shape as formed by natural erosion that will let the sky come down to the street. The work on the volume is defined by the modularity of the wooden structure,” write the architects. “As particles, dispersed facade panels together with the volumetric decomposition come to blur the shape of the building. The warm materiality of the wood is combined with the soften reflection and aerial touch of the metal panels. The building will come alive with the light.”
In total, the building has a floor area of 12,700 square meters. It will include a sport facility, business center, youth hostel, “performance bar and restaurant”, and a co-working space. The architects contend it will serve as a “green lung” for the dense urban area along the Avenue de France. It will include terraced and suspended gardens.
“Reinforcing the connection between the busy Avenue and the green promenade on the south, the public garden will resonate with the garden of the National Library close by and rise the attractiveness of the district,” states Kengo Kuma & Associates.
8 Comments
I love Kengo Kuma's work, and this building looks very nice. However, without systems like solar arrays, water use reduction and plans for carbon sequestration, the "eco" angle is just more greenwashing.
Fun fact: Other than the electricity and water consumption during a building's lifetime, the construction of a building and transportation of materials accounts for the overwhelming majority of a building's carbon footprint. Consider the additional construction and transportation necessary to install hanging gardens and tree-lined facades.
Was prepared to hate this (the current airy 3D rendering + blocky pattern style always looks cheap) but I love it, especially the interiors. Damn you Kuma. You pulled it off.
Agree with Schoon. Needs to go much farther before it is greenwashing. Integration of plantings - large scale - has previously been done more effectively than here. Can't remember the project ... touted for cooling and CO2 reduction effects.
typo: isn't greenwashing
A+ for the modular aesthetic and all that wood!
Looks nice, but how does it in anyway relate to Paris or France? Looks like something that should be in a humid subtropical Asian climate...
that 3rd image down makes me want to be there. Very nice.
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