Triango, the project developed by BSI (Bopro Sustainable Investment), was announced as winner of the large-scale competition “Inventons la Metropole de Grand Paris” for Triangle de Gonesse. The proposal reinvents the business park as a lively and diverse ensemble defined by public space, where sustainability is promoted in every sense of the word.

Inventons la Métropole du Grand Paris is the largest European competition for city planning, architecture and public space. Over 50 sites were put up for public tendering with the high ambition to generate innovative projects that set the agenda for the future of Paris. With more than 400 applicants, 3 teams where shortlisted per site and tasked with developing concrete proposals. Triango is a vision by a team of architects and designers led by RAU, SeARCH, karres+brands, and Atelier Phileas as local partner. The 15ha project is a state of the art example of circular economy and aims to realize 167.000m2 modular offices, incubators, ateliers around a central park. State of the Art Circular Economy RAU considers a circular building as a temporary aggregation - an option with a future - of products, components and materials with a documented identity in a composition in which it performs – over a predefined period in time - a certain housing function. The development and realization of the Triango circular buildings take in account the fact that the buildings will behave dynamically throughout their period of use. The design of the various buildings therefore already anticipates possible future adjustments due to changes in the needs of the user or by external influences (such as, for example, changing regulations, location aspects or climate change). “When we realize that we are mere guest on Earth and the Earth is a closed system, it means that all of Earth ‘s raw materials are a limited edition. To prevent further loss of this limited editions it is necessary to facilitate all limited raw materials in an unlimited way so that they can be used over and over again in the future. This can only be accomplished by fundamental social and economic changes and by switching from a linear economy to a circular economy in which consume and produce are cultivated, facilitated and documented in a new way.” (Thomas Rau) A vision for a new way of working Not only is Triango an anchor in the development of the Triangle de Gonesse, it also serves as a reference for a new type of office area. Through the combination of nature, sport and work, Triango generates a new range of possibilities, creating space for the known, new and unexpected. Just as natural elements are defined by their links with different molecules, the park is strengthened by its public space and inter-building connections. Rather than fighting iconic architecture, Triango seeks synergy. “Triango is our vision for a new way of working: an office area that is not defined by iconic buildings but rather by high-quality public space. The interaction between buildings and environment offers new possibilities for work, sport, recreation, and of course, nature. Working is no longer confined to the office building but instead becomes a landscape experience.” (Darius Reznek, karres+brands) Robust masterplan The masterplan is structured along a very robust framework that articulates the edges of the site around a lush green central park. The membrane of buildings reacts to unique site qualities and defines 3 characteristic zones: The urban zone, is a compact strip, where, transparent, active, ground floors and open public spaces, consisting of gardens and green atriums, create a lively urban character. At the centre of the urban zone is a large production greenhouse which will provide energy-neutral food and ingredients used in the products of the companies working in the area and for small local shops and restaurants. The organic zone, takes advantage of the south orientation to the seamlessly connect with the green. The park connects on different levels with the buildings and form innovative outdoor areas for new ways of work and recreation, such as tribunes for watching the ongoing sport activities, a climbing wall along the building facade, plateaus towards the water and an outdoor conference/lecture atrium. The landmark zone runs along the highway and forms a striking façade towards the A1. It acts as an iconic landmark, seen by the many motorists passing by every day. At night a large production greenhouse on the roof, illuminated from inside, acts as a lighthouse, seen from afar. Public space backbone The backbone is the main route through the area. It connects the outlying areas with all important destinations in the park, establishing an office–park relationship through the creation of unique, dynamic spaces. It touches all main entrances to the area and articulates them through integrated work and sports functions. A working landscape Triango is a working landscape machine with an integrated natural water system. Not only will water be buffered and filtered on site, it will also be purified for consumption. All in all, the system offers high-quality space for sports and ecology, inviting users to stay and enjoy. The existing typology is used to determine water flow and define gathering spaces. The central water purification machine is located directly on the urban strip, where passers-by can experience the green-blue system and all it has to offer.