by Nicole Mormann | © Take Part
In a city recognized for its iconic monuments—the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame de Paris, and the Palais du Louvre, to name a few—a group of eco-conscious architects are aiming to construct yet another eye-catching structure in France’s capital
.
Its designers—Parisian firm OXO Architectes and Tokyo-based Sou Fujimoto—call the Thousand Trees building project a “floating village in the middle of a forest” that essentially looks like an inverted pyramid with a rooftop comprised of, well, a thousand planted trees.
It will feature single-family homes and apartments, offices, a hotel, restaurants, and a day care and recreational park, not to mention a tree-covered pedestrian bridge over a nearby highway. But make no mistake: This isn’t just a crowd-pleaser. It’s beneficial to the environment too.
“It’s a response to global warming,” Manal Rachdi, founder of OXO Architectes, told Fast Company. “We know now by experiments that normal rooftops can really lead to a leak of energy. But when we have rooftops planted with greenery or trees, we save energy. It’s becoming a trend now because it’s another way to consume less energy and protect buildings.”
However, Parisians will have to wait another couple of years to see the green-topped innovation, as construction begins in two years with a projected completion of 2021 or 2022.
In the meantime, here’s a look at the design that could be “the symbol of New Paris” and some of its suggested eco-friendly features.
Leave a Reply