The project in Iceland designed by Jakob + MacFarlane, Living Landscape, is a mixed-use building, with a minimal carbon footprint, conceived as a sample of the local ecosystem: with autochthonous plants, topography inspired by nearby wetlands, etc.
This typology of landscape based on living ecosystems seeks to serve as a precedent for future development projects. The O-shaped building will be Iceland's largest timber structure.
The other winning proposal put forward by the studio for Saint-Denis, titled Odyssée Pleyel, 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.
To this end, they propose a modular architectural system called Energy Plug, a new prototype of a building that can be adapted to any old urban context, with a prefabricated, removable, recyclable and reversible wooden structure. In addition, a greenhouse and solar panels attached to the existing building allow the energy self-sufficiency of the old industrial site.
Description of project by Jakob + MacFarlane
Living Landscape in Artún, Reykjavik, Iceland
Competition won in collaboration with associated architects and landscape architects T.Ark and LANDSLAG, EFLA and EOC firms, with the investors Upphaf, Heild, Klasi and Arnarhvoll
Living Landscape is an innovative, mixed-use building with a minimal carbon footprint, a positive impact on its environment housing a local condensed ecosystem. This “O-shaped” project will be the largest wooden structure in Iceland.
In the midst of a landscape blessed with a rich ecosystem, this building has been imagined as a sample of the local ecosystem. Indigenous plants, local boulders, a topography imitating nearby wetlands, a rainwater management system inspired by phenomena observed with stratovolcanoes and the whole contributing to the creation of a rich focal point for the project, the city and the planet.
The project is part of the future urbanized context of the Elliðaárvogur-Ártúnshöfði development district, which consists of moving a polluting industrial zone elsewhere in order to build a new neighborhood. The goal of this initial project is the new urban extension of Reykjavík toward the east, with a living ecosystem-based landscape typology serving as a precedent for future development projects. This ecosystem-based methodology implemented for growing cities has been designed by a team of local and international expert with the idea it can serve as an example to the global community.
Diverse activities are housed on the ground floor: 4,100 m² (44132.03 ft²) of commercial space, including a restaurant of 300 m² (3329.17 ft²) and a kindergarten of 400 m² (4305.56 ft²) with 250 m² (2691 ft²) of protected courtyard in the central landscape. The second floor is comprised of 4,000 m² (43,055.64 ft²) of office space. The upper floors contain 16,000 m² (172,222.57 ft²) of apartments of varying types (students, elderly people, etc.). The adaptable roof includes five shared greenhouses and can accommodate any sort of activity (fitness club, tearoom, etc.), all linked by an accessible circular path. For strollers, bicycles and all types of conveyance, the central landscape is accessed from the urban space.
Enviromental program
— Central and local ecosystem (indigenous plants, local boulders, animals and insects),
— Optimal rainwater management,
— Porous building through systems enabling soft mobility,
— Mixed wood and concrete structure for a more durable building.
Odyssée Pleyel in Hall de décuvage, Saint-Denis
Zero-carbon urban and architectural project promoted by EDF
The team, working in partnership with EDF, presented an innovative urban and architectural project that is representative of zero-carbon energy solutions. Titled Odyssée Pleyel, this 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 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.
