La Garenne-Colombes

Following an international competition, Foster + Partners, together with developers Sefri-Cime, was awarded the design of a masterplan and office development in the town of La Garenne–Colombes, on the north-western outskirts of Paris. The project is part of a wider initiative, prompted by the arrival of the T2 line of the Parisian tram system in 2012, to take advantage of the economic benefits that the fast connection to the nearby business district of La Défense will bring. The masterplan redefines the axis of the widened Route Nationale, establishing a broad tree-lined boulevard in a contemporary reinterpretation of the Parisian tradition. Sensitive to the existing urban grain, the new street frontage relates to the scale of the lower buildings to the rear.

The scheme comprises two office buildings and a mixed-use residential development, which runs along the length of the boulevard, giving it a completely new frontage. A striking new office building with shops at ground level marks the point where the axis terminates and the road curves towards Bezons. The mixed-use building is designed to be permeable: a pedestrian route through the scheme links the new neighborhood and public space at Place de Belgique with the existing centre of La Garenne-Colombes. A glazed, full-height atrium bridges the two main volumes of the scheme, adding to the sense of transparency. The southern and westerly facades are clearly defined to address the scale of the main boulevard, while the building softens into tiered arcs at the rear, shaping a new public space that faces the local primary school. A sequence of planted terraces, providing outdoor space for office workers, step down towards the plaza. The two linear sites that front onto the Route Nationale are occupied by further offices and mixed-use residential buildings respectively. Their massing has been adapted to respect the smaller scale of the existing streets behind, while creating a unified frontage along the length of the boulevard.

The scheme is designed to be highly energy efficient and targets ‘BBC’ (Batiment Base Consummation), a high level of accreditation that signifies the building uses approximately one third of the energy consumed by an equivalent office development. To reduce waste, around half the building’s façade is solid and the natural ventilation system incorporates pantographic panels at every 3-metre structural bay. The double-skin ventilated façade system to the south and west is complemented by simpler, double-glazed facades to the north and east.



Client: Sefri-Cime
Consultants: Terrell, CEE, Arte-Charpentier Architectes, Avel Acoustique, Davis Langdon Schumann Smith, Elioth, Elioth Facades, IOSIS