snohetta: europacity competition proposal

‘europacity proposal’ by snohetta, paris, franceimage © snohetta

a metropolitan development of the gonesse triangle serving the greater paris and roissy regions has the potential to become a new central hub for cultureand transport, linking with the metro and national rail lines. although BIG has been recently declared the winners of the international competition to designthis area (see designboom’s recent coverage here), snohetta‘s notable proposal for ‘europacity‘ in collaboration with gehry technologies and RWDI is also worth study.

the concept lies behind the creation of a new fused urbanity, rather than duplicating what already exists in paris or simply extending the rural outlying landscape.as if folding out of the ground, the structure houses interwoven program fostering a powerful integration of characteristics that constitute a culture. the structure’s shear size emphasizes a horizontal monumentality that is conceived as an inhabitable elevated landscape. agriculture lies at the coreof the project, where fields are located closest to the city center. urban farming promotes localized production and consumption with the creation of biofuels;private individuals can own their own fertile plot of land that lends to a symbiotic relationship between the man-made and nature on all scales. planned and unplanned points of interaction blend work with play, indoor with outdoor, and promotes the exchange of knowledge in relationships,altogether creating a new concept coined ‘agri-culture’.

interview with craig dykers and kjetil trædal thorsenvideo © europacity

structure grows out of the groundimage © snohetta

diverse farmland covers the rooftopimage © snohetta

organic-like structure creates pockets of various activitiesimage © snohetta

integrated nature with the man-made structureimage © snohetta

indoor ski slopeimage © snohetta

night viewimage © snohetta

bird’s eye viewimage © snohetta