Beaugrenelle—Paris, France
Developer: APSYSDesigner: Valode & Pistre ArchitectesSize: 538,000 square feet (50,000 sq m)
Following a period of successful operations and subsequent decline, the Beaugrenelle shopping center in the 15th arrondissement was demolished to make way for a new-generation venue by making the most of the existing raised slab—a significant constraint left over from the utopian style of architecture of the 1970s. Located near the Eiffel Tower in the Front de Seine district of Paris, the new Beaugrenelle is the innovative result of an overarching approach to urban design, commercial architecture, and the environment. It includes 130 office spaces, a 764-room Novotel hotel, 4,500 parking spaces, and homes for approximately 10,000 people. The project features 75,000 square feet (7,000 sq m) of vegetated rooftops.
Opened in October 2003, Beaugrenelle is an urban project that is intended to redefine urban life by proposing a new kind of shopping area for the city. With architectural openness as the development’s main focus, the goal for the project was to increase its connectivity to the surrounding community, ameliorating its design in a quest for more friendliness, continuity, and fluidity in urban life, as well as a high level of environmental performance. The project is meant to reconcile culture, commerce, and city, moving beyond retail offerings to provide a social and cultural place where people can live and enjoy their environs.
