MAD Architects has released latest photographs of its new residential tower in Paris, showing that the 50-metre tower is almost complete and expected to complete in September 2019, with an estimated move-in date scheduled for November.

The tower, named UNIC, features undulated terraces that complement the overall form of the building. UNIC will be MAD's first built project in Europe when completed. Led by Ma Yansong, Principal of MAD, the project was awarded in an international design competition in 2012 in collaboration with local French firm Biecher Architectes. 

Located in Paris’ 17th arrondissement, Clichy-Batignolles is a newly developing area of the city. UNIC emerges as part of the mixed-use masterplan envisioned adjacent to the Martin Luther King Park – a 10-hectare green space. 

Unlike the static Haussmann apartment blocks that define Paris, MAD’s project is characterised by its interaction with nature in the urban environment. 

Its undulating floor plates form a series of terraces, creating dynamic spaces within and expansive gardens and balconies on the exterior. Each asymmetrical level slightly tapers as the building ascends, with the upper floors boasting panoramic views of the surrounding city and the Eiffel Tower.

Clichy-Batignolles provides the opportunity for French and international architecture firms to collaborate and create a new part of Paris. The neighbourhood re-activation plan includes construction of new residential buildings, as well as other community resources. The area was divided into nine plots which were each assigned to a group comprised of architecture companies and developers. 

After winning the competition, these groups met regularly to discuss each team’s project within the bigger scheme of the neighbourhood. They particularly participated in a series of workshops to explore topics from the macro-scale urban plans to micro-scale details, such as sustainable community development, resource sharing, energy management, and population demographics. 

Image © NKCHU

MAD’s design was the result of these workshops with the developers, architects and the Clichy-Batignolles inhabitants. In addition to which, the residential plot for UNIC includes both private housing and affordable housing, thus enriching the dynamics of the neighbourhood.

Situated in this evolving socio-economic boundary, UNIC reinterprets the conventional residential typology. The design is characterised by sinuous floor plates, vertically extending the neighbouring green park. By combining residential density with raised gardens, the project is an upwards-growing organic arrangement, one that blurs the boundary between architecture and nature. 

Sharing the same podium with the affordable housing, its communal programming is further realised with the addition of the kindergarten, retail spaces, and other community resources at ground level. A metro station is integrated with the building, linking the community and neighbourhood to the greater Paris area. 

In contrast to typical modern cities that displace the connection between the ground and nature as they grow increasingly dense and vertical, MAD’s scheme creates an environment that is generous in natural spaces. 

Embracing the Parisian legacy of integrating nature and gardens into the urban center and everyday activities, UNIC actively enhances relationships within the community, represents the neighbourhood’s evolution, and offers a contemporary vision of how nature can be integrated into the urban environment.

Project facts

Project name: UNIC
Location: Paris, France
Date: 2012-2019
Typology: Residential
Status: Under Construction
Expected completion: September 2019
Site Area: 1,033 sqm
Building Area: 6,600 sqm
Building Height: 50 m
 
Principal Partners in Charge: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate Partners in Charge: Andrea d’Antrassi, Flora Lee
Design Team: Zhao Wei, Wu Kaicong, Daniel Gillen, Jiang Bin, Tristan Brasseur, Juan Valeros, Gustavo Alfred van Staveren, Xin Dogterom, Juan Pablo, Cesar d Pena Del Rey, Natalia Giacomino, Torsten Radunski, Rozita Kahirtseva

Client: Emerige
Lead Architect: MAD Architects
Team Coordinator: BIECHER Architectes
Executive Architect: BIECHER Architectes
Structure Engineers: BECIP – BET Structure
MEP Consultant: ESPACE TEMPS – BET Fluides
Landscape Designer: PHYTOLAB – BET Paysagiste
Interior Designer: Charles Zana
Project Management: Artelia
Construction Company: Vinci Sicra Ile-de-France

All images © Jared Chulski unless otherwise stated

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