‘jardins de l’arche’ by AWP, paris, france image © AWP, sbda all images courtesy AWP

paris-based architecture firm AWP has won the competition to design and develop ‘jardins de l’arche’, a series of urban spaces within the la défense central business district of paris, france. public plazas and follies placed between the grande arche and the seine-arche will generate an axial link. covering an area of 30,000 square meters, the masterplan will be placed above the underground A14 route, metro line 1 and RER A. a continuous ramp reaching 600 meters in length will create a fluid movement between the arena 92 stadium, terrasses de nanterre, residences and hotel, passing by extensive gardens and small scale pavilions for multifunctional purposes.

AWP: jardins de l'arche, paris view towards la défense image © AWP, sbda

the new structures will provide an architectural continuity throughout the landscape merging the existing and new buildings. a large plaza and multiple kiosks will introduce a harmonious visual vocabulary which is also capable of withstanding tremendous crowds of visitors for events. the fusion of spaces provide vegetated sanctuaries with the ability to activate different locations within the site.

AWP: jardins de l'arche, paris ramps traversing the terraces image © AWP, sbda

AWP: jardins de l'arche, paris ramps cross over gardens image © AWP, sbda

AWP: jardins de l'arche, paris existing site conditions image © juan m garrido

AWP: jardins de l'arche, paris site plan image © AWP, sbda

AWP: jardins de l'arche, paris aerial map image © AWP, sbda

AWP: jardins de l'arche, paris continuous ramp image © AWP, sbda

AWP: jardins de l'arche, paris the gilles clement’s garden image © AWP, sbda

AWP: jardins de l'arche, paris follies and small buildings image © AWP, sbda

project info:

project: jardins de l’arche location: la défense, paris, france net floor area: 71 044 m2 type of project: public realm and follies planned: 2011 client: epadesa architects: AWP project responsible: alessandra cianchetta, matthias armengaud team AWP: marc armengaud, matthias armengaud, alessandra cianchetta irene bargués, juan garrido, miguel la parra knapman engineering / qs: ginger lighting: 8’ 18’ environmental: AEU competition: 2011 / preliminary studies ongoing delivery: 2014