Milan-based architecture firm Stefano Boeri Architetti is designing a vertical "forest" tower in Villiers sur Marne, in the eastern quadrant of the Parisian metropolitan area.
The 177-foot-tall tower will be made of wooden structures and will be covered by 2,000 trees, shrubs, and plants, yielding a green surface equivalent to a hectare of forestland (equivalent to a bit over 100,000 square feet), 10 times the surface area of the lot on which the building sits.
The mixed-use tower will house residential apartments on its upper floors and office and commercial spaces on the lower floors. The east- and west-facing sides of the high-rise will allow sunlight to enter the building throughout the day; terraces and balconies on all four sides will ventilate the structure; and the building will offer panoramic views of central Paris.
In addition to Forêt Blanche, Stefano Boeri Architetti has designed the neighboring La Cour Verte building, which is characterized by a courtyard, a sloping roof that touches the ground, and a hanging garden with 6,500 square feet of planted grass.
Forêt Blanche is one of 12 architectural structures presented by developer Compagnie de Phalsbourg on the Marne Europe–Villiers sur Marne site, called Balcon sur Paris. Balcon sur Paris is part of the Inventons la Métropole du Grand Paris competition, a contest for urban development promoted in the Parisian metropolitan area.
France has seen an uptick in wood construction spurred by concerns over climate change and the negative impacts of concrete manufacturing. The production of concrete generates significant amounts of carbon emissions, while trees capture carbon dioxide, making wood an environmentally friendly alternative to concrete. Wood construction has also ramped up with the availability of cross-laminated timber (CLT), prefabricated engineered-wood panels known for their light weight, strength, fire resistance, and ease of installation.
The city of Bordeaux, in southwestern France, has pledged to build 270,000 square feet of wooden spaces per year for the next 15 years, reports Paris-based journalist Jenny Che in a recent CityLab article about the rise of timber construction in France. That's where architect Jean-Paul Viguier is building, with CLT floors and walls, the 18-story residential Hyperion Tower, which should be one of the tallest timber structures in the world when completed in 2020.
“I wanted to take advantage of the fast construction time and reduced carbon emissions, but also bring out the soft feel and smell of wood,” Viguier told CityLab. “Urban environments can be rather mineral, and I left the wood exposed inside—in the floors, ceilings, and walls—because I wished people to have a connection to nature," he added.
