Ports of Paris

From the riverfront and the street, the heritage building renovation reveals layered façades animated by subtle light reflections, while its historic structural frame speaks to its industrial past. Seen from above, the building reads as a continuous green landscape: a generously planted courtyard anchors the scheme, rooftops are fully vegetated, and terraces extend as landscaped, lawn-like public spaces.

The waterfront architecture design reconfigures the former wholesale warehouses (Pavilions 1 and 2) — an 85-meter-long early 20th-century industrial structure — into flexible, modular office, floorplates organized to accommodate diverse occupancy scenarios, and complemented by shared, reconfigurable amenity spaces. This adaptive reuse strategy preserves the existing structural framework while integrating contemporary building systems, which is underpinned by a robust environmental agenda focused on sustainability, resource efficiency, and long-term operational performance.

The waterfront architecture design transforms the former wholesale warehouses (Pavilions 1 and 2) — an 85-meter-long industrial building dating from the early 20th century — into flexible office floor plates complemented by shared, adaptable common areas. This adaptive reuse strategy is underpinned by a comprehensive sustainability framework.

The planted courtyard, conceived as a bioclimatic device by the waterfront architect, enhances passive cooling by promoting cross-ventilation and air movement during the summer months, thereby reducing reliance on mechanical systems. In parallel, the double-skin façade composed of screen-printed glass functions as a thermal chimney, facilitating vertical air extraction and contributing to the building’s overall environmental and climatic performance.
The project’s design development was led by the waterfront architect through the implementation of an integrated environmental design strategy, prioritizing high indoor air quality, optimized daylight penetration and distribution, enhanced thermal comfort through passive and active systems, controlled acoustic performance, and reduced operational energy demand.