SLA and BIECHER ARCHITECTES, have won the international competition to develop the former location of the Ordener-Poissonniers’ railway into a socially sustainable urban development, in the heart of the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France. The 3,7-hectare site will include 1000 new residents, big public parks, offices, theater, public school, industrial design incubators, a graduate school of design, food courts and urban farming.
The Danish landscape architects and city development experts SLA, known for their work in Paris, and French architecture firm BIECHER ARCHITECTES, generated Jardin Mécano or Mechanical Garden, a new urban ecosystem. Set to be completed in 2024, the project is the result of the transformation of the “railways and heavy industry into a new 3,7 ha carbon neutral ‘ecosystem neighborhood’ based on nature-based design solutions, strengthened social cohesion and on-site renewable energy production”.
The Ordener-Poissonniers project will act as a green generous gift to the city of Paris. In the transformation of the old post-industrial railway site, we have especially focused on the values and the qualities we want the new development to give back to the neighborhood. By combining the strong industrial character with innovative nature-based designs and public ecosystem services we create a new standard for nature in Paris – where nature is everywhere and where humans, plants, and animals can live and flourish together. -- Rasmus Astrup, partner in SLA.
Actually, the designers’ approach consists of preserving the industrial heritage of the area and conceiving a mixed-use ecosystem neighborhood through the addition of green, nature-based public spaces and carbon-neutral architecture. The new neighborhood contest, will have a mix of social, intermediate and private housing for 1000 new residents. The intervention prioritizes pedestrians and bicycles and encourages urban farming.
On Clean air and strong social bonds: “All is designed to make biodiversity, natural amenities, sustainability and post-industrial heritage the starting point of the entire development of Ordener-Poissonniers – a radical way of literally growing a new neighborhood out of the existing Parisian soil,” -- Rasmus Astrup, partner in SLA.
Moreover, the project will put in place 36,500 m2 of industrial design, arts, food, and tech. This also includes a new public school for culture and artistic education, offices and industrial design incubator, a cinema complex, a theater, a food court, shops, and services.
On Carbon neutral architecture: “With the new Ordener-Poissonniers we create a new form of urban ecosystem that will be entirely carbon neutral and extremely energy efficient through its bioclimatic masterplan. All roofs will consist of innovative solar tiles, de facto turning the whole neighborhood into one big solar power plant. Free heat from the local data center is extracted and used in the buildings. All in all, the project will have an exemplary environmental footprint above 94 percent – with heating costs for the area amongst the cheapest in Paris,” -- Christian Biecher, founder of Biecher Architectes.
Name: Ordener-Poissonniers
Location: Paris, France
Category: Mixed-Use Development, Public Space Design
Client: The City of Paris, SNCF Real Estate and Espaces Ferroviaires (site developer)
Developers: Emerige, Ogic
Main Architects: BIECHER ARCHITECTES and SLA
Sub-Building Architects: Niney et Marca Architectes, Bourbouze & Graindorge and AAVP.
Sub-Consultants: OASIIS (sustainable development), ATTITUDES URBAINES (programming), OTEIS (engineering).
Project Year: 2019
Completion: 2024
