UPPER WONDER

This project is a good example of how to embed the essence of urban life within an eco-district. The 2 – 1 – 1 block of the Clichy Batignolles ZAC embodies some of the challenges that 21st century cities will have to address : building on the same urban plot heterogeneous programs (a senior nursing house, dwellings units, a car park, shopping facilities and a place of worship) that all meet the Paris city council environmental regulation. The morphology of the building results from a close focus on urban prospects, the relationship with the surrounding buildings and more density. Thus, the building is finely embedded in the plot like the last piece of the puzzle, shaped both horizontally and vertically, recalling a glacier or a rocky peak. The overall shape of this unusual sculpture generates a strong visual identity which softens the rigor of the construction process.