UnitY
At the border between the newly constructed area and the historical neighborhood of Ste-Blandine, UnitY is a multi-layered building. The alternating glass and mineral strata rest on a pass-through base. The concrete upper levels accentuate its verticality.
The distorted Southern facade directs the sight toward the green heart of the building block, as the rift in the volume is invested by terraces at every floor. This in-between areas bring the user closer to the green canopy.
Another extension of the office space into the exterior - a bio-climatic rooftop garden - can be reached from the upper levels.
Unity encompasses the idea of extrovert office buildings that encourage dialogue between users and interactions with the outside world.
Linking the newly constructed area (Lyon Confluence Ilot A3) to the historical neighborhood of St. Blandine, UnitY is a compact multi-layered building as project brief for the designers was to fit 2500 m² of offices on a narrow plot measuring only 16m deep by 30m long.
Concept
Unity's final appearance – simplicity – was acquired after numerous morphological studies. A floating effect is obtained through an inverted use of concrete with a visually heavier mass placed above a ground-floor that is almost completely transparent.
Floating mass
Alternating glass and mineral strata rest upon a glazed traversal base. The upper levels in concrete accentuate the building's verticality.
The distorted Southern facade directs the sight toward the green heart of the building block, as the rift in the volume is invested by terraces on every floor. This in-between areas bring the user closer to the green canopy. The sixth and seventh floors shelter another extension of the office space onto the a bio-climatic rooftop garden.
Materials and structure
AFAA notably used the patented innovative process called "GBE" ® for the second time.
Hiding behind the aesthetics of a non-bearing concrete facade, insulation is interposed between it and the load-bearing concrete beams, pillars and walls forming the building's rather traditional structure.
Interior spaces
The interiors were designed so as to create as much free space as possible and to offer an optimal comfort for the future occupants.
The use of a radiant ceiling panels provides maximum thermal and acoustic comfort.
This cooling & heating system, along with using concrete slab's thermal inertia, contributes to reaching high levels of energy performance.
The ceiling height is improved by compacting the entire ventilation system into the raised flooring.
Outdoor areas
Complementary to the interior, the terraces and the rooftop winter garden enhance the building's openness to the exterior.
UnitY encompasses the idea of open offices that encourage dialogue between users and interactions with the outside world.
