Morland Mixité Capitale by David Chipperfield Architects in Paris completed

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Following six years of design and construction, the mixed-use complex Morland Mixité Capitale in the centre of Paris has been completed. The building on the banks of the River Seine was originally constructed in the 1960s and has been refurbished, remodelled and extended by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin.
The official opening will take place on 22 June.

 

The former ‘Préfecture de Paris’ on Boulevard Morland served the city's population as an administrative building for decades. In 2016, the team David Chipperfield Architects Berlin and the French developer Emerige won the Call for Projects ‘Reinventer Paris’ for the complex – with their concept to make the previously introverted complex accessible to the public again, transforming it into a lively and open destination with the character of a campus and emanating a positive effect for the overall neighbourhood.

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Two new building volumes facing the boulevard and the River Seine, which mediate between the scale of the existing and neighbouring buildings, contribute to the repair of the city. The volumes are raised above the ground to create a new public axis that provides a passage from the boulevard to the River Seine. Load-bearing, vaulted arcades characterize this passage at ground floor level and act as a counterpart to the stringent column grid of the existing ensemble. The complex accommodates a wide spectrum of usages: upscale and affordable housing, a hotel, a youth hostel, offices, retail, a gallery, a food market and a childcare facility. The two top floors house an inhabitable art installation, a bar and restaurant providing wide vistas over the French capital.

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Preserving and further developing the existing building not only ensures urban continuity, but also forms an essential component for the comprehensive sustainability concept.

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David Chipperfield about the project:

“I believe more than the design excellence of an individual building and its construction, architectural quality today is seen in the ways in which the building connects with its surroundings and enriches quality of life for all citizens, addressing a holistic approach to sustainability. In the case of Morland Mixité Capitale, the gesture towards the public realm and the creation of a semi-public space was an important aspect, as well as the overlapping of different activities.”

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    Morland Mixité Capitale 59

    Morland Mixité Capitale

    Paris / France / 2022