Tower D2
La Defense, Paris
Aknoledgements: ArchiDesignClub Award 2015, Trophée du Bien-Etre 2015, 3rd prize at the Emporis Skyscraper Award 2015
From the beginning it was part of our architectural concept to create a building that complies with the French green building standards HQE. It was also the investor’s wish. And we succeeded. Thanks to our design of the exostructure and the choice of materials, steel and concrete, we were able to reduce material consumption by 30 percent. This is in comparison to other towers the same size. And as you know, less material also means less carbon emissions.
The building had to be very compact and the shape of the tower was rapidly defined to fit its surroundings. A rectangular shape would have been very difficult to fit within the cramped plot. Moreover, I wanted a soft and rounded shape around which that would fit into the dense context. I also knew opting for an exostructure skin would allow for better structural stability and reduce the section of the structure and core. One can then wonder about the open diamond shapes at its base.
