by Brianna Crandall — March 21, 2012—Foster + Partners has announced that the firm has received a construction permit for the planned Hermitage Plaza twin skyscrapers and development in the Paris region. Hermitage Plaza will create a new community to the east of La Défense, in Courbevoie, that extends down to the river Seine with cafés, shops and a public plaza at its heart. The project incorporates two 320-meter-high buildings—the tallest mixed-use towers in Western Europe—that will establish a distinctive symbol for this new urban destination on the Paris skyline.
The project is intended to inject life into the area east of La Défense by creating a sustainable, high-density community, in collaboration with local planning authorities. The two towers will accommodate a hotel, spa, panoramic apartments, offices and serviced apartments, as well as shops at the base, says Foster + Partners.
The buildings will face one another at ground level, with an open layout designed to encourage people to walk through the site, and enclosing a public piazza as the focus of social activity. As they rise from an interlocking diamond-shaped plan, the towers will turn outward to address views across Paris. The angle of the façade panels promotes self-shading, and vents can be opened to draw fresh air inside, contributing to an environmental strategy that targets a BREEAM “Excellent” rating. The highly efficient diagrid structure uses less steel and emphasizes the elegant proportions of the towers, notes Foster + Partners.
A crystal-shaped podium building will contain office space, with two detached satellite buildings housing a gallery and auditorium that further extend the public realm. The piazza—to be created by burying the existing busy road beneath a landscaped deck—will slope gently downward to the water’s edge, which will be lined with new cafés and restaurants. Connected to the existing Courbevoie and EPAD masterplans and commissioned by Emin Iskenderov, the project will reinforce the regeneration of the riverfront.
