« Grand Angles » : means, symbolically, to open the space at 360°, to seek the light, to facilitate urban connections and to link the site to its context, at the heart of the Massena ZAC.
The Grand Angles project for the M9A lot proposes a building with strong marking of its 4 angles, granting them each their own identity, linked with their orientation in the context. A Northern RER angle, linked to the transport network, a Western angle signaling the entrance of the University of Chicago, on an avenue linking many universities, a Southern “family” angle, with access to homes and welcoming the soft motilities, and an active angle on Avenue de France, with the presence of Second Home.
The project stands out thanks to the urban porosity it creates. The site is cut through by a passageway leading to a peaceful courtyard surrounded by the University of Chicago and Second Home facilities.
In its architectural language, the building is unified. The distinction between University and housing in the towers is done through stratification, with the University from ground level to 2nd floor and the housing above, in the towers. However, the façade, in ceramic glass panels, evanescent, is pierced by monumental openings, spread across each face, granting the ensemble a strong identity.
Exceptional homes, all dual-aspect are obtained by “sculpting the volume by light”. The heart of the site reveals grand curved glazed surfaces which bathing the homes in light, while the external facades, more solid, offer incredible view to the city, through monumental carved openings.