French architecture studio Dream has completed an office building in Paris, which is clad with terracotta tiles to “evoke the history” of the industrial site in the Saint-Ouen district.
Situated within one of three Olympic villages, the mass-timber structure by Dream will be used as office space for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games team during the Olympics this summer. One of nineteen buildings in the Saint-Ouen Olympic Village, it was strategically designed for its use beyond the event.
The building is clad with terracotta tiles
“The main idea behind the building is to imagine the office building of the future, with a particular focus on mixed-use programming and, in this case, the integration of a sports area of over 1,200-metre-square on the roof,” studio founder Dimitri Roussel told Dezeen.
“[The office] will occupy a central position within the Olympic village and then, during the ‘legacy phase’, it will house companies.”
The structure is composed of a mass-timber frame
The building’s rectilinear structure is organised into three interconnected blocks of different heights. Rhythmic glazing lines the facade and is interrupted by double-height openings punctured into the building to form sheltered terraces.
A spruce wood frame was used to construct the building and is coupled with prefabricated concrete floors and a Douglas fir exterior. Terracotta tiles clad the facade and were intended to mimic the use of brick in the area.
Inside, the ground floor houses a food court that connects to an outdoor public space, while the upper floors provide bright workspaces divided by timber columns.
Situated on the building’s top floor is a spacious eight-metre-tall sports hall adorned by exposed timber framework and backed by a view of the city.
Leading out from the sports hall is a sheltered terrace of the same height.
Exposed timber framework features in the sports hall
“The design creates opportunities for people to meet, because that’s what it’s really all about,” Roussel said.
“This building is a great living machine that offers multiple possibilities for users in their workplace to meet, exchange and create this challenge of living together.”
External staircases are designed to promote circulation
A series of external staircases are designed to encourage circulation through the building. Additionally, a parking lot located in the building’s basement is designed to be adaptable for extending the ground floor programmes.
Other projects recently completed ahead of the upcoming Olympic Games include the restoration of the city’s Grand Palais which will host fencing and taekwondo and a trio of apartment blocks lined with loggias and terracotta-tiled facades.
The photography is by Cyrille Weiner.
Source: Dream completes mass-timber office building for Athletes' Village in Paris