Jean-Luc Crochon
Architect & CEO
Cro&Co Architecture, Paris

Vincent Jean-Pierre
Managing Director Offices & Mixed-use Projects Europe
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Paris

A New ‘Beating Heart’ for the La Défense District

In order to successfully integrate into the dense urban context of the La Défense business district in Puteaux, Trinity was designed as a comprehensive and contextual urban project, with public benefits. It combines three major axes into a single construction program: a high-rise mixed-use building, major urban links, and a reuse of the territory, thanks to a concrete slab poured above an existing seven-lane road. A feat of civil engineering, the slab is fertile, providing 3,500 square meters of landscaped public space, linking two previously disconnected neighborhoods, and improving access to La Défense's largest transport hub. The project has metamorphosed the formerly congested, roadside landscape, bringing magic to the site and masking the highway below.

A local French stone was used for the ground covering of the public space, on which sixty non-allergenic trees of a variety of species enhance the lower and upper levels, contributing to wind reduction for pedestrian comfort. The trees on the ground are echoed vertically up the tower, with about 20 planted terraces. By means of topsoil beneath timber decking, these areas are home to around 40 different plant species, whose varieties were inspired by mountain vegetation. At the top of the tower is a needle, symbolizing the stitching of this urban seam. The tower's core, off-center on the elevation, brings a new architecture to La Défense, with the "beating heart" largely glazed and open to the city. Animated by the occupants, activity is visible through the façade: the movement of the panoramic elevators, the upper-level gardens, and suspended meeting rooms. This “dialogue” between the interior and exterior creates an interaction with its surroundings that brings the tower to life.

This awards category sponsored by: