Pushed Slab is an office building designed by MVRDV in Paris, built over a former railway embankment on a long, narrow lot dividing two very different areas: the block to the north is densely built-up, while the urban area to the south is simpler, dotted with infrastructures here and there.
The architects of MVRDV designed a plate-like volume which reflects the shape of the lot and opens up in the middle to provide a view of a historic building.
To create this "urban window", the architects forced the volume to create an apparent twist in its levels, breaking up the façade and forming a number of patios on different levels linked by external stairways. The building therefore has two souls, with a composed, linear northern façade and a dynamic southern façade on which patios with big vases and plants provide a place for office workers to relax on their breaks.
Pushed Slab is the first building to be completed in Paris’s new ecological district, a highly efficient building with systems for reducing energy consumption.
(Agnese Bifulco)
Design: MVRDV + North by North West
Location: Paris, France
Images courtesy of MVRDV, ph Philippe Ruault
www.mvrdv.nl