How can a building’s energy balance be maintained as a living organism would? The search for solutions has come to the forefront of contemporary concerns, with a view to finding a way for architecture to self-regulate its energy consumption based on uses and the fluctuations of the environment. One of the first surfaces concerned is the building’s façade, which is very similar to the material envelope of a body or the membrane of a cell: an interface between an interior that must be kept in balance and an exterior that is subject to variations the interior must be protected from. Much is at stake in the case of high-rise buildings. The double-tower high-rise “The Link,” which will emerge in La Défense in 2025, is typically subject to various constraints and challenges. To optimize user comfort, an ideal balance must be found between two paradoxical factors: the importance of daylighting and protection against exterior heat.
In order to draw natural light deeper inside the building, the archetypal form of the high-rise tower is called into question. The Link is made up of two cores connected in a figure-of-eight shape, thereby increasing the exchange surface with the exterior and leading to larger surfaces being exposed to direct sunlight instead of having blind elevator shafts at their core, as is typical in high-rises.
An architectural decision was made to open up as many perspectives as possible on the exceptional landscapes of the Seine hillsides, the Bois de Boulogne Park, the rooftops of Paris, and the La Défense skyline, thanks to full-height glazing.
This vast transparent surface, with 360 degrees of exposure to the sun, must however allow for user thermal comfort, as well as reduced energy use. How can natural light then be allowed in but not the heat, all the while preserving the views of the distant horizon? Tinted glass has run its course—it alters the perception of the landscape and generates significant energy consumption as workspaces must be artificially lit even during the daytime.
Based on the interpretation of a solar simulation, PCA-STREAM’s architectural teams, in partnership with the engineering consultancy VS-A, have worked on adapting the façade to its environmental context. They have developed an envelope with variable typologies to address different constraints, with a single skin on the north side and a double skin on the south side, which has the most sun exposure.
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For Daniel Buren, architecture is an open-air studio. In an exclusive interview with architect Philippe Chiambaretta, he talks about his site-specific work, where art and architecture meet, just like the Nuages Colorés that cover the scales of the 175 Haussmann glass roof.
A philosopher and senior lecturer at the National School of Architecture of Marseille, Matthieu Duperrex explores ‘sentinel landscapes’—polluted soils, engineered rivers, industrial port zones—from a decolonial, multidisciplinary perspective attentive to the various ways of narrating the damaged world we have inherited. He regards these sites both as places of warning and as spaces of knowledge.
Read our discussion on the subject of generative AI with Raphaël Doan, a specialist in the sciences of Antiquity and author of the uchronia Si Rome n’avait pas chuté (If Rome hadn’t fallen), an essay imagining, with the help of AI, what might have happened if the Industrial Revolution had taken place under the Roman Empire. Through this experiment, fascinating possibilities for historical and archaeological research are outlined, as AI facilitates the processing of archives, the translation of lost languages and the deciphering of burnt texts.
L’agence PCA-STREAM dirigée par l’architecte Philippe Chiambaretta a signé en 2006 le projet de réhabilitation d’un immeuble tertiaire destiné à accueillir le tout nouveau Centre d’Art Contemporain de Kiyv. Le projet architectural s’est construit en parallèle du positionnement éditorial et de la constitution de la collection, en collaboration étroite avec le mécène du projet Viktor Pinchuk et le curateur Nicolas Bourriaud. Retour sur la genèse de ce projet ambitieux, destiné à ouvrir l’Ukraine sur le Monde.
On the occasion of its integration into the Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) university consortium, the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-Malaquais is publishing a manifesto that asserts its institutional positioning. Far more than a mere text, this manifesto lays the foundations for a committed academic vision, emphasizing the urgent need to train architects engaged in transforming the ways we inhabit the world. Structured around twelve key concepts, it is intended as a compass to guide the school’s pedagogical and strategic choices, in alignment with the 2025–2029 National Strategy for Architecture. In this interview, its director, Jean-Baptiste de Froment, reflects on the values driving this project and on how the school positions itself as a proactive agent of thought and action within the contemporary architectural landscape.
Once a sanctuary for dreams and imagination, nighttime has now been relegated to the mere role of a utilitarian prelude to daytime. Nocturnal realms possess an alchemical power capable of transfiguring our perceptions. However, when viewed through the lens of urban uses, the night also exacerbates inequalities and raises questions about the possibility of achieving an urban night that is accessible to everyone. Exploring the range of possibilities associated with the night reveals it as a space-time where complex interactions are woven that could be revitalized through a chronotopic and inclusive architecture.