Paris architecture firm Jakob + MacFarlane has designed a retractable wood and glass exhibition hall for the Saint-Denis area of Paris. As a winning project in the C40 international "Reinventing Cities" competition, the project was made to reflect the historical industrial heritage of the surrounding context. Dubbed Odyssee Pleyel, the hall aims to showcase thought-leadership in carbon-neutral development and the global clean energy transition.
The team, working in partnership with EDF, presented the urban and architectural project to be representative of zero-carbon energy solutions. The project will result in the rehabilitation of the former monumental devatting hall in the Pleyel district of Saint-Denis, at the gates of the future Olympic village of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Odyssée Pleyel is a model building that can be adapted to climate change, in Saint-Denis and other metropolises: a modular and reversible wooden extension, integrated with a greenhouse and solar panels which are attached to the existing building. Thanks to the latter, this former industrial site will become a self-sufficient producer of renewable energy.
The rehabilitation of the former Pleyel devatting hall in Saint-Denis functions through a three-part architectural system referred to as an "Energy Plug". The great hall, a concrete "cathedral" over 24 meters in height and over 85 years old, will be returned to its original form, after light treatment to ensure its conservation, and will enable the exploration of its vast volumes. The new construction, a wooden CLT structure with glazed façade will be embedded in the existing building and become its matrix. Finally, a vertical agricultural greenhouse, attached to the southern façade, which can be toured by the public, will be further extended by the renewable-energy-producing photovoltaic roof.
The Energy Plug is a new building prototype that can be adapted to any older urban context. It consists of a pixelated wooden matrix structure that can be enlarged or retracted depending on situational needs. This system is comprised of an assemblage of columns, beams and intersecting laminate wall plates. The structure is prefabricated, can be dismantled, and is recyclable and reversible. A series of staircases and footbridges link the various spaces (gallery of energy, scientific workshop aiming to develop awareness of industrial activities, innovation studio, entrepreneurial hub, restaurant, vegetable greenhouse), all of which function independently but can be integrated and shared for a major event.
News via Jakob + MacFarlane
- Client: EDF SA
- Completion: Winning competition C40 Reinventing Cities May 2019
- Site: Hall de décuvage Pleyel, Saint-Denis, France
- Surface : 3 840m²
- Program: Mixed use building, exhibition hall, glass house, offices, conference room, restaurant
- Credits: Jakob+MacFarlane
- Team: SETEC bâtiment (sustainable) / SNAIK (Lighting) / Les fermes de Gally (Landscape) / ETIC (Solidary and social economy spaces manager)
Carlo Ratti Places 650-Foot-Long Urban Vineyard in Central Milan
Carlo Ratti Associati has won an international competition for Reinventing Cities, with the design of a new research center placed under a 200-meter-long (650-foot-long) vineyard. Situated close to Milan 's Fondazione Prada, the VITAE project will connect the street level to the roof via a seamless footpath, and will contain a new office building and center for scientific research.
