*Copyrights photos : Stephan Tuchila, video time-laps : ICADE
In Nanterre, at the heart of the Seine Arche urban development area, EDENN proposes a model for a contemporary office building based on the continuity between architecture, landscape, and uses. Designed as a “landscape building,” it combines an active base, a planted pedestrian passage, and a volumetric composition articulated through terraces. Its low-carbon hybrid timber–concrete structure, bioclimatic envelope, and the integration of reused materials reflect a comprehensive environmental approach. The project also features a refined interior design, introducing a domestic quality and a level of detail rarely achieved in office architecture, with principles of reversibility embedded from the outset.
ARCHITECTURE: AN OPEN, BIOCLIMATIC, AND STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
Located at the entrance to the Groues district in Nanterre, at the heart of the Nanterre–La Défense business district to the west of Paris, EDENN is set within a rapidly transforming territory shaped by contemporary flows and mobility patterns. In close proximity to major transport infrastructures — the Eole commuter rail station (RER E extension) and Grand Paris Express connections — the project benefits from strong metropolitan accessibility. Positioned at the tip of a plot open on all sides, the building acts as an urban mediator, articulating movement, uses, and pedestrian continuity.
The project builds on these dynamics to propose an open and permeable architecture. A landscaped pedestrian passage open to the public connects Boulevard des Bouvets to Boulevard de la Défense, offering a key soft mobility link at the neighborhood scale. This planted route organizes movement flows, supports pedestrian use, and contributes to a walkable urban environment.
The building’s base supports these uses. Active, transparent, and largely open, it extends the public realm and accommodates retail, services, and multiple access points. Entry sequences, visible and generously sized bicycle storage areas, and continuous circulation paths contribute to the seamless integration of contemporary mobility, particularly soft modes.
Above this base, the building volume is shaped through a sequence of folds, setbacks, and patios. These features are not only formal but performative: they enhance daylight penetration, optimize orientations, and enable passive ventilation and cooling, while multiplying accessible outdoor spaces.
The building envelope extends this approach through a high-performance, multi-layered façade. It combines a timber structure, aluminum window frames, and a lightweight outer screen composed of white powder-coated aluminum tubes with varying density depending on orientation. This system acts as a bioclimatic filter, diffusing daylight, reducing solar gain, and improving indoor comfort.
The structure is a central driver of the project. The timber superstructure — glulam columns and beams with CLT floor slabs — rests on a low-carbon concrete infrastructure and an open steel base. This hybrid system optimizes spans, reduces structural weight, supports prefabrication, and ensures a high degree of flexibility for office layouts, while significantly lowering the building’s carbon footprint.
Vegetation is integrated as a true design material. Planted pathways, terraces, loggias, winter gardens, and a cultivated rooftop form a layered landscape at all levels. This evolving system will fully reveal its potential when occupied by Schneider Electric, gradually establishing a perceptible vegetal presence and a microclimate throughout the building within the coming year.
Finally, the project incorporates a targeted reuse strategy, particularly in the exterior landscaping through the use of reclaimed sandstone paving and gabions, contributing to reduced environmental impact while enriching the material expression of the site.
INTERIOR DESIGN: DETAIL, MATERIAL, SIMPLICITY AND REVERSIBILITY
Inside, EDENN develops a distinctive approach to office environments, based on quality of use, precision, and a sense of domesticity rarely achieved in this type of program. The interior architecture extends the project’s principles by articulating open spaces, generous circulation areas, and informal zones in a clear and continuous spatial sequence.
The main lobby is conceived as a true indoor plaza. A forest of columns, fully expressing their structural role, becomes a key architectural feature. Through their repetition and slenderness, these elements rhythmically structure the space, guide movement, and establish a refined and understated elegance. Joints — whether recessed or expressed — are treated as graphic lines, sometimes integrated with lighting, extending the project’s geometry down to the finest detail.
Below, at the lower ground level, the staff restaurant is organized around landscaped patios. Benefiting from natural light brought in through voids and openings within the base, it maintains a direct relationship with vegetation and extends the experience of the building as a landscape at another level.
The ground floor accommodates a range of uses — services, coworking spaces, and dining — in seamless continuity with the public realm. Wave-shaped stepped seating, integrated benches, and custom furniture elements contribute to a continuous architectural language in which furniture becomes an extension of the building, supporting informal uses.
Wood is omnipresent in the interior through paneling, cladding, and joinery, notably oak in the lobby and shared areas. It contributes to a warm atmosphere and reinforces the coherence with the building’s structural system.
Lighting fixtures are conceived as architectural elements in their own right. They emphasize lines, articulate volumes, and enhance spatial legibility. Light becomes a compositional tool, revealing materials and detailing.
Materials are selected for their environmental performance and durability. Finishes are predominantly bio-based and mineral-based, and incorporate reused elements, notably reclaimed joinery façades in the restrooms and selected raised flooring systems, aligning the project with a strategy of material efficiency.
Finally, the project integrates reversibility from the outset. A strong architectural identity, driven by structure and envelope, reduces the need for specific fit-outs and limits material consumption. The regular structural grid, open floor plates, and intrinsic spatial quality allow for future changes in use without major intervention. This adaptability ensures long-term resilience and resource efficiency.
At every scale, from overall composition to detailing, the project is defined by a high level of precision, giving the spaces a quality and coherence rarely achieved in contemporary office architecture.
