Two residential tower blocks in Clichy-Batignolles, Paris

摘要

Metropolis in a State of change Paris is undergoing a transition. Currently an almost bewildering number of urban development projects are being carried out. They all offer indication of a sustainable and social renewal, while also helping to connect the centre better with the periphery. Over the years the biggest building site has been in the 17th municipal district in the north of Paris, close to the Boulevard peri-pherique, the ring motorway that runs around the urban area. Originally, as part of the (unsuccessful) application by Paris to host the Olympic summer games 2012 the master plan by urban planner Francois Grether, landscape architect Jacqueline Osty and the engineering office OGI was to provide a location for the Olympic village. Now the new urban district of Clichy-Batignolles is approaching completion on the 54-hectare former railway site. The new courthouse building by Renzo Piano on the northern side of the eco-quarter is - in accordance with the urban development concept "Grand Paris" -the most striking sign of the infrastructural upgrading of the suburbs. Alongside a further 140,000 square metres of office and business space 3,400 new apartments have been made -half of them in the form of social housing, 20 per cent rental apartments with restricted rents and 30 per cent condominiums - along with the requisite social infrastructure. In short: cooling the urban climate, using renewable energy, low energy design for buildings, and comprehensive and sustainable rainwater management are the most important corner stones for a neutral carbon balance for the entire location.