AG Real Estate France delivers the Marceau building in Bas-Montreuil: 8.900 m² of new offices in a true oasis of coolness

Located on a former industrial site, the project was developed in partnership between AG Real Estate and Marignan under a real estate development contract and designed by the architecture firm AZC.

An island of coolness thanks to de-artificialization

Located between Rue Marceau and Rue Robespierre, the site, once entirely paved, now offers 2.600 m² of outdoor space, including 1.400 m² of garden, 1.320 m² of open ground, and 1.200 m² of terraces accessible from each floor. The landscaping, designed by AZC in collaboration with an ecologist, prioritizes local species and incorporates features that benefit wildlife (shelters, nesting boxes, and appropriate lighting). Rainwater is collected and infiltrated on-site.

Thanks to this approach, the urban heat island (UHI) score of the site decreases by 25%, bringing the plot closer to a "park-garden" type of operation.

In an urban fabric, this transformation constitutes a concrete climatic contribution for the neighborhood, beyond the mere perimeter of the building which will benefit from a unique green working environment for its users.

An architectural approach rooted in the suburban fabric

The AZC agency organized the project around an east-west pedestrian walkway crossing the site, connecting Robespierre and Marceau streets. This landscaped passageway structures the building layout, orients the offices towards high-quality views of the gardens, and thus creates natural ventilation thanks to the island design.

The central segment of the plot ensures continuous north-south transparency. The façade combines an exposed concrete structure with wooden joinery. On the upper floors, two external staircases connect the office spaces to large private terraces.

According to Grégoire Zundel, associate architect at AZC: “We designed Marceau around passageways and transparencies that link the building, the garden, and the neighborhood. The simplicity of the structure and the robustness of the materials—concrete and wood—guarantee the building's longevity within the diverse fabric of Lower Montreuil.”

A new office building in a mixed and vibrant neighborhood

Marceau is part of the growing importance of Bas-Montreuil as a service-sector alternative to eastern Paris, located 5 minutes from the ring road, a seven-minute walk from the Vincennes RER A station, and close to metro lines 1 and 9. The district, already vibrant with a diverse range of private, public, and semi-public stakeholders, combines a lively, village-like atmosphere (housing, local shops, varied restaurants, and cultural offerings) with a competitive rental market position compared to central Paris.

The building offers 1.700 m² floor plates divisible by half-levels, the option of operating as one or two independent buildings, and a total capacity of 860 workstations across five floors and a garden level. On the ground floor, a 250 m² cafeteria, a meeting room complex, and two street-level shops open the building to the surrounding neighborhood. The garden level houses a multi-purpose space compliant with accessibility standards for 199 people and a fitness area.

An asset designed to withstand cycles

The structural framework has also been designed to offer, in the long term, heritage options: indeed, if uses were to evolve in the coming decades, the common denominator of building thicknesses and vertical circulations would make it possible to consider a transformation towards residential with a minimum of additional embodied energy.

According to Arnaud Guennoc, Managing Director and Head of Development France at AG Real Estate: “Marceau is conceived as an asset rooted in its territory. The redevelopment of this industrial brownfield site into a new building, extensively landscaped and open to the neighborhood, illustrates our approach to commercial development: quality of use for occupants, measurable contribution to the urban environment, and integration into the local fabric. It is also an asset designed to withstand the test of time: the structural design incorporates from the outset the necessary flexibility to adapt the building to future uses, which we believe is an essential component of its long-term heritage value.”

A project co-created with the City

The project was developed following an architectural competition conducted in partnership with the City of Montreuil. The social inclusion clause of the construction site provided employment, allocating 5% of working hours to people facing difficulties. Finally, a monumental sculpture by the artist Keen Souhlal, composed of stacked vases and counter-vases echoing the building's structure, will be installed in the heart of the garden.

Technical specifications

• Project name: Marceau
• Development and investment: AG Real Estate France
• Promotion: Marignan
• Architecture / Landscape: AZC
• Design/execution project management: CET
• Notary: GMH - Olivier Herrnberger and Virginie Blanc
• Marketers: BNP Paribas Real Estate, Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE
• Artist: Keen Souhlal
• Environmental Engineering Firm / Ecologist: ELAN
• Address: 89, rue Robespierre, 93100 Montreuil / 94 bis rue Marceau, 93100 Montreuil
• Program: offices (total capacity: 860 workstations, 4 floors above ground level)
• Area: 8.700 m2 of office space and 200 m2 of retail space
• Outdoor spaces: 2.600 m2 in total, including 1.400 m2 of garden, 1.320 m2 of open ground, and 1.200 m2 of terraces accessible from each floor
• Reception areas and services: 250 m2 cafeteria, two street-level shops, a modular multipurpose space (public access building capacity 199 people), a meeting room complex, a 200 m2 fitness area,
• Mobility: 86 underground parking spaces, up to 40% of which are equipped or pre-equipped for electric charging, 25 two-wheeler spaces, 260 m2 of bicycle storage (86 spaces with showers and lockers)
• Environmental performance: Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) class B — 62 kWhEP/m2/year, i.e. -37% compared to the requirements of the tertiary sector decree by 2030 and -7% of the carbon footprint compared to the RE2020 threshold of 2022
• Targeted certifications and labels: BREEAM New Construction V6 — Excellent level; HQE Sustainable Building V4 — Excellent level; Biodivercity V1; Ready to Osmoz; WiredScore — Silver level