SO–IL . Laisne Roussel . images: Weiss . laisne roussel . So Il . Icade
In joining the Reinventer La Seine competition for the Place Mazas site in Paris, New York-based architects SO–IL and Paris-based Laisne Roussel have partnered with French real estate developers REI Habitat and Icade to create a captivating design proposal. Our winning submission offers a fresh approach to urbanism, one that carefully considers contemporary as well as historical contexts while creating a flexible infrastructure that can evolve in parallel with the city.
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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.
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Place Mazas, Paris, France, 2017
Client
City of Paris
Location
Paris, France
Program
Co-living, restaurant, fab-lab, co-working, auditorium, communal spaces
Area
5,600 m² / 60,000 sf
Status
Competition, 1st place, expected 2020
Team
Florian Idenburg, Jing Liu, Ilias Papageorgiou, Ian Ollivier, Alvaro Gomez-Selles Ferndandez, Pam Anantrungroj, Marisa Musing
Dimitri Roussel, Nicolas Laisné, Julie Siol, Nicholas Préaud, Pierre Barbet, Marco Morra, Edoardo Perani, Aleksandra Sobczyk
Collaborators
Developer: REI
Developer: ICADE
Associate Architect: Laisné Roussel
Landscape: Atelier Georges
Cultural Consultant: Manifesto
Engineer: Elioth
Urban strategy consultant: OFC
Co-working operator: WoMa
Housing operator: Coloines
Social Service Association: Aurore
Cultural Partners: Institut du Monde Arabe and Tara
Acoustic: AcooustB
Environmental Performanec: Sinteo
General Contractor: Maitre Cube
