L’Atelier de l’Arsenal by SO-IL and Laisné Roussel architects. Place Mazas – Réinventer la Seine
19/07/2017.
[PAR] France
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
The winners of the "Reinventer La Seine" competition for the "Place Mazas" site in Paris have been for the team formed by New York architects SO-IL and Parisian architects Laisne Roussel, associated with REI Habitat and Icade real estate developers.
Its winning proposal offers a new approach to urbanism, which carefully considers both contemporary and historical contexts, while creating a flexible infrastructure that can evolve in parallel with the city.
Its winning proposal offers a new approach to urbanism, which carefully considers both contemporary and historical contexts, while creating a flexible infrastructure that can evolve in parallel with the city.
Axonometric view from the Arsenal Basin. Image courtesy and © SO – IL and laisné roussel
Aerial view from the Pont d’Austerlitz. In the foreground, the housing building and temporary pavilion. Image courtesy and © SO – IL and laisné roussel (Weiss images).
View from the Arsenal Basin. In the foreground, the public plaza overlooking the swimming pool. Image courtesy and © laisné roussel et SO-IL (Weiss images).
View of the subway plaza from the Quai de la Rapée. On the left, the residential building, on the right, the temporary pavilion. Image courtesy and © SO – IL and laisné roussel (Weiss images)
SO-IL and Laisné Roussel architects, winners of this international competition to design a new masterplan for Place Mazas in Paris, was titled "L’Atelier de l’Arsenal". Located along the Seine River and the Canal Saint Martin at the end of the Bastille Axis, the area is currently in the midst of several civic development projects, including the upcoming waterfront park, parc Rives de Seine.
The competition was organized by the city of Paris as part of the Reinventer La Seine initiative, which aims to introduce innovative new proposals at the intersection of architecture, creative urbanism, and development for sites along the river.
The competition was organized by the city of Paris as part of the Reinventer La Seine initiative, which aims to introduce innovative new proposals at the intersection of architecture, creative urbanism, and development for sites along the river.
Description of the project by SO-IL and Laisné Roussel architects
The focus of our proposal, titled “L’ Atelier de l’ Arsenal”, is the transformation of the underused site of Place Mazas into a new social node for Paris. Located at the junction of Canal Saint Martin and the Seine River, the site forms a critical intersection of cultural, economic, and environmental networks. It is also strategically positioned at the center of important future development projects like the Balade de L ’Arsenal, a new urban path, and the new pedestrian waterfront park, parc Rives de Seine.
The site is divided into two parts. The first is a seven-story volume that continues the historical Haussmanian axis and tops out just below its neighboring 19th century residential building. This volume includes a housing program in co-living typology, with several interior and exterior shared spaces for the residents as well as a public restaurant on the ground floor.
The second, located on the axis of Bastille, is dedicated to public activities. It maintains a lower profile, opening up views to the Seine River. This part of the site includes three new public squares, a lockhouse built in 1905 that is being repurposed, and a temporary pavilion that will host facilities like public co-working spaces, a fabrication lab, an event room, and an exterior terrace offering new views on the Arsenal Basin, the Seine River, and the surrounding city, as well as a facility for homeless care already established on site.
Our proposal creates a flexible composition of spaces and buildings that stimulates diversity and anticipates further civic transformations. We understand that urban space doesn’t stop evolving; after twelve years the public zone may be returned to the city, offering the opportunity to update its use once more.
Sustainability is a driver of the project. Our design represents a new relationship to the waterfront as Paris works to create a swimmable river in the near future. Included on the site are a public swimming pool as well as a pool for biodiversity research and water quality monitoring. The proposal’s housing is constructed from locally sourced timber and its temporary pavilion features a dismountable structure made of renewable materials, facilitating urban growth while decreasing environmental impact.
Working alongside SO – IL and Laisne Roussel are our collaborators, including French Developers REI and Icade; landscape architect and urbanist Georges; arts and culture consultant Manifesto; urban strategy consultant OFC; co-working and maker-space operator WoMa; housing operator Colonies; social service association Aurore; Yacht Club Paris Bastille; foresters association Francîlbois; partner association Cluster; cultural partners Institut du Monde Arabe and Tara; engineers Elioth (structure, facade and environment); Innogur (ecology); AcoustB (acoustic); and Sinteo (environmental performance); as well as general contractor Maitre Cube, specialists in wood construction.
More information
Architects
SO-IL, laisné roussel.
Team
Atelier Georges, Manifesto, Of ce for Cities, WoMa, Yacht Club Paris Bastille, Aurore, Colonies, Institut du Monde Arabe, Base Tara, Cluster EMS, Innogur, Elioth, Acousteb, Sinteo, Maitre Cube, Francilibois
Collaborators
3D Images Imágenes 3D.- Weiss Images. Landscape Architect/Urban Planner.- Atelier Georges
Area
60,000 sf / 5,590 m²
Client
REI Habitat, Icade Promotion
Venue
Place Mazas - Paris, France
Developer
ICADE. Lead Developer.- REI Habitat
Florian Idenburg, Jing Liu. SO-IL
Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu (SO – IL) is an idea-driven design office founded by Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu in 2008, and is currently led together by Ilias Papageorgiou. With a global reach, it brings together extensive experience from the fields of architecture, academia and the arts. The firm has extensive recognition and prizes, including the Emerging Voices award from the Architectural League, the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program Award, and the AIA Young Architects Award. The office has received praise for many of its works including the design of the Frieze Art Fair New York, and for their largest building to date, the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California at Davis.
Partners.
Florian Idenburg, principal. Florian Idenburg (1975, the Netherlands) holds an MSc. in Architecture from Delft University of Technology. Prior to founding SO–IL, Idenburg gained eight years of experience at the practice of Pritzker laureates Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA. Idenburg is a recognized voice in academia and has held teaching positions at Harvard, Columbia, Princeton and the University of Kentucky.
Jing Liu, M Arch, principal. A native of China, Jing Liu received her education in China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, concluding with a Master of Architecture from Tulane School of Architecture in New Orleans. Liu has been a faculty member at The Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University since 2009, and advises the Master’s thesis at Parsons The New School of Design. In addition to her professional and academic pursuits, Liu serves on the board of the Van Alen Institute.
Ilias Papageorgiou, partner. He was born in Athens, Greece. He holds a Diploma in Architecture from Aristotle University in Greece, and a Master's in Architecture from Harvard University. Papageorgiou has been with SO–IL since its inception in 2008 and has played a key role in the firm’s recognition and success. He became a partner in 2013. Besides practising, Papageorgiou is a frequent lecturer and visiting critic at various universities and has taught design studios at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
Team.
Sooran Kim, associate, joined SO–IL in 2011 and relocated to Seoul to oversee the construction of the Kukje project. Sooran holds a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University.
Ted Baab, associate, joined SO–IL in 2011. Ted holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard University.
> 2013.
architects Laisné Roussel
Laisné Roussel architects, is an architecture studio established in Paris since 2003. The partners Nicolas Laisné and Dimitri Roussel have manage to gather a multicultural and multidisciplinary team together operating in the fields of architecture, urbanism, research and development. These 30 multipurpose and proactive collaborators are fully part of the laisné roussel outlook.
Internationally recognized, laisné roussel develops a wide range of projects and programs, from small scale private homes to large scale urban design. While many of their designs are distinguished private operations including residential buildings, offices and campus, they have also completed highly recognized public facilities, such as educational buildings.
Aiming to enrich its projects, the studio punctually joins forces with other architects. Thus, it enables them to conceive more complex proposals and to gain skills through a collaborative dialogue. Sharing visions, practices and methods are dynamics they implement to step out from their comfort zone and to renew propositions. Daring and optimistic, the studio works especially within constraints to convert them into opportunities for creating added value.
Realistic and open, laisné roussel’s architects are in tunewith the pulse of contemporary life and its permanent changes. Their designs are future oriented while responding to immediate needs. laisné roussel is currently developing innovative\/groundbreaking projects such as the residential tower l’Arbre Blanc (the White Tree) in Montpellier, the bioclimatic offices building in Nice Méridia and a new shared educational building of Ecole Polytechnique in the cluster of Paris Saclay.
laisné roussel is also designing projects with a more cultural purpose such as a pavilion for the next Lyon Architecture Biennale (summer 2017) or the exhibition “Haut Dehors” with the artists Cyrille Weiner and Elvire Bonduelle.
27, rue Barbès
The office
The office is based on 27 rue Barbès in Montreuil. Located in a former wood manufacture, the refurbished craftman’s workshop is now a collaborative open space.
Hosting laisné roussel collaborators, it is also a creative incubator for various partners such as designers, photographers and writers. It aims to create a place where multidisciplinary profiles can exchange and collaborate. Fostering knowledge spillover, 27 rue Barbès is an adress where laisné roussel considers new ways of working.
Internationally recognized, laisné roussel develops a wide range of projects and programs, from small scale private homes to large scale urban design. While many of their designs are distinguished private operations including residential buildings, offices and campus, they have also completed highly recognized public facilities, such as educational buildings.
Aiming to enrich its projects, the studio punctually joins forces with other architects. Thus, it enables them to conceive more complex proposals and to gain skills through a collaborative dialogue. Sharing visions, practices and methods are dynamics they implement to step out from their comfort zone and to renew propositions. Daring and optimistic, the studio works especially within constraints to convert them into opportunities for creating added value.
Realistic and open, laisné roussel’s architects are in tunewith the pulse of contemporary life and its permanent changes. Their designs are future oriented while responding to immediate needs. laisné roussel is currently developing innovative\/groundbreaking projects such as the residential tower l’Arbre Blanc (the White Tree) in Montpellier, the bioclimatic offices building in Nice Méridia and a new shared educational building of Ecole Polytechnique in the cluster of Paris Saclay.
laisné roussel is also designing projects with a more cultural purpose such as a pavilion for the next Lyon Architecture Biennale (summer 2017) or the exhibition “Haut Dehors” with the artists Cyrille Weiner and Elvire Bonduelle.
27, rue Barbès
The office
The office is based on 27 rue Barbès in Montreuil. Located in a former wood manufacture, the refurbished craftman’s workshop is now a collaborative open space.
Hosting laisné roussel collaborators, it is also a creative incubator for various partners such as designers, photographers and writers. It aims to create a place where multidisciplinary profiles can exchange and collaborate. Fostering knowledge spillover, 27 rue Barbès is an adress where laisné roussel considers new ways of working.
Dimitri Roussel. DREAM
DREAM (Dimitri Roussel Ensemble Architecture Métropole) is an architectural firm founded by Dimitri Roussel in 2018. Dimitri collaborates with around thirty designers who also have international profiles and who share his humanist creative vision.
DREAM creates spaces adapted to modern-day lifestyles. Their designs aim to promote wellbeing and social interaction both in working and living spaces. The agency develops projects of various types and scales: housing, offices, sports facilities, ephemeral architecture. DREAM has particularly strong expertise in programmatic diversity.
DREAM favours bioclimatic architecture: they choose responsible construction methods and collaborate with local partners who share their values. The agency puts ecology at the centre of its projects, from bioclimatic design to the use of bio-basedmaterials. DREAM’s expertise and values have contributed to the agency’s reputation as a leading specialist in wooden architecture.
DREAM creates spaces adapted to modern-day lifestyles. Their designs aim to promote wellbeing and social interaction both in working and living spaces. The agency develops projects of various types and scales: housing, offices, sports facilities, ephemeral architecture. DREAM has particularly strong expertise in programmatic diversity.
DREAM favours bioclimatic architecture: they choose responsible construction methods and collaborate with local partners who share their values. The agency puts ecology at the centre of its projects, from bioclimatic design to the use of bio-basedmaterials. DREAM’s expertise and values have contributed to the agency’s reputation as a leading specialist in wooden architecture.
Nicolas Laisné. Nicolas Laisné Architectes
Nicolas Laisné founded his firm Nicolas Laisné Architectes in 2005. The firm develops urban planning, architecture and interior design projects, from design to execution and site supervision.
With his team of 50 people based in Paris, Nicolas Laisné works for public authorities, as well as private players and individuals in France and abroad. The firm has taken part in a number of international events, including the Venice Biennale in 2021.
Thanks to his open-mindedness, his natural curiosity and his taste for dialogue, Nicolas Laisné skillfully juggles multiple influences. His holistic vision of architecture allows him to invite philosophers, agronomists, botanists, artists and even data scientists to collaborate with him. He puts together a new multi-disciplinary and international team for each project.
With his team of 50 people based in Paris, Nicolas Laisné works for public authorities, as well as private players and individuals in France and abroad. The firm has taken part in a number of international events, including the Venice Biennale in 2021.
Thanks to his open-mindedness, his natural curiosity and his taste for dialogue, Nicolas Laisné skillfully juggles multiple influences. His holistic vision of architecture allows him to invite philosophers, agronomists, botanists, artists and even data scientists to collaborate with him. He puts together a new multi-disciplinary and international team for each project.
