Manuelle Gautrand, ORIGAMI, Paris

In an elegant neighbourhood in Paris, not far from the Arc de Triomphe and Place de l'Etoile, architect Manuelle Gautrand has designed an office building on a lot previously occupied by an office complex built in the seventies, of which he preserves only the underground parking lot.

The key to the project is a continuous façade of glass, a double skin that looks as if it has been folded like Japanese origami.
The architects gave up on their initial idea of using real marble slabs and preferred to use panels of glass etched with a pattern recalling the veins of marble.

This choice offered two important benefits: etched glass lasts longer than thin marble slabs, and permits complete control over the colour and design of the panels, an important feature for creating different effects on the façade and inserting them in a context including existing buildings.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Design: Manuelle Gautrand Architecture
Location: Paris, France
Photographs: © Vincent Fillon courtesy of Manuelle Gautrand Architecture

www.manuelle-gautrand.com