Head office of Canon France

This office project at the Porte Pouchet is situated within a triple-paced urban context, at the confluence of three contrasting elements: the Paris Ring Road, the greenbelt, and the fabric of a redeveloped Parisian district.

The particular quality of the Porte Pouchet is also dictated by a bend at this point in the Ring Road, encouraging the discovery of new landscapes, and creating a landscape which overlooks eastern Paris and Les Batignolles, at the prow of Building A.

The project structures distribution and working spaces in a manner which interacts with these horizons.

To the north, a dynamic façade is designed to draw the attention of travellers on the Ring Road: the design principle of an overmantle is employed here. It is comprised of two materials: natural anodized aluminium and coloured anodized aluminium. Its geometry changes from storey to storey, as though the overmantle were rotating on itself. The resulting modification of angles of reflection lends a dynamic quality to the façade. Shades of the two materials employed highlight this effect by coloration. The perforated concrete shell structure allows this façade to achieve the requisite acoustic and thermal properties.

The screen façade overlooking the Rousié Stadium is clad in a curtain wall comprised entirely of transparent glass panes. As this façade does not accommodate any permanent work stations, the bays are configured with atypical dimensions, and deliberately depart from the conventional 135 cm grid pattern associated with office partitions. The functional imprint of elevator lobbies, stairways and walkways marks the façade.

Natural light is present throughout: each elevator lobby receives direct daylight from the exterior. Moreover, the stairways arranged at the end of the building are positioned to receive direct daylight.