French media company Le Monde Group has chosen Snøhetta to design their new headquarters in Paris. Clad with a pixelated matrix of glass that offers varying degrees of transparency, the building’s distinct facade will be embedded with clusters of LEDs that project “abstracted levels of data,” symbolically representing the group’s continuous “flow of information.”
“The intention is that the façade gives the building a homogenous character when viewed from distance, but at the same time reveals a greater level of complexity as the view approaches – like headlines and detailed content in a news story,” says Snøhetta. “The façade patterns are intended to represent the building as a complete volume, while the distorted pixel map creates a rich tapestry from inside and out.”
“Our approach has been one of subtraction, taking first a block filling the entire site and subtracting volumes to create entrance areas and public spaces. The subtracted volumes also relate to the existing site planning restrictions and the capacities of the structural grid. The result is that the building becomes a bridge, literally spanning across the site, but also representing the bridge between Le Monde and its readers.”
Split in two halves, the building will be internally connected by an “occupied bridge” that forms a vaulted public space at the center of the site along the Avenue De France. Near the street, the plaza will offer an “open, inviting, and activated by a visitor center, auditorium entrance, and staff entrance.” Near the railway will be a café with intimate seating and green areas.
News via Snøhetta
