BUCAREST
The act of elevating buildings is an answer to the process of urban densification. While continuing to be rebuilt on itself, Paris maintains a definite sense of harmony over the heights of its Haussmannian buildings: the galvanized roofs constitute a unified urban landscape from which emerge, nevertheless, a heteroclite crown of contemporaneous projects.
The offices on Rue de Bucarest are one such project. The project provides an aesthetic and technical response to the challenge of rising above the existing structures. Two edge beams support its North and South facades. Their linearity is interrupted to form terraces oriented on remarkable views, which participate both in the dialogue between internal spaces and the outside, and in the internal partition of the open plan.
The design crowns the existing attic while keeping its structural grid: the latter allows for the emergence of a glued laminated beam series that supports the green roof. The assembly of these pieces with the peripheral beams creates an acroterion on the roof following a spirit of constructive economy, while their repetition enhances the interior space.
In a discrete manner, the curtain wall alternates between clear and opaque glass panels. The design of the facades reflects a readable narrative and bears witness to the intentions of Atelier Quinze Vingts, whose commitment is towards building efficiency and increased awareness of the impact of construction on energy resources and the environment.
