The architectural firm Valode & Pistre unveils Urban Garden in Lyon

A project oriented towards the sun

The project consists of three parallel buildings, five stories high and increasing in length from North to South.

The main facades face south and north. The south facades are protected from solar gain by large continuous sun shades, perfectly effective in this orientation and the north facades are not exposed by nature.

Thus the project is naturally protected from solar gain, which is an essential measure in terms of comfort and limitation of energy expenditure linked to air conditioning. This protection thus makes it possible to benefit from a greater height of the glazing on the facade. The absence of a spandrel and the low fallout favor the view to the outside and the brightness of the office floors. The concept deeply marks the architecture of the project, the expression of which is strongly differentiated according to the orientations.

The two buildings located furthest to the south are connected to each other by a perpendicular building block to form a whole.

A fully flexible project

The office floors are designed to ensure the greatest freedom of layout. The vertical circulation core is reduced to a minimum grip and the additional stairs necessary for safety are rejected outside the east gable. Combined with external bearings, they ensure a complementary relationship between levels. They constitute a repetitive and very significant architectural motif of the project, a symbol of communication.

A project inserted in its urban environment

For the sake of urban coherence, the overall plan is organized according to alignments initiated by existing buildings located to the North. These alignments are gradually modified by progressing towards the South to exploit the flared shape of the plot and give full development to the design of the project.

A permeable and heavily vegetated project

The ground floors of the buildings are organized according to a flexible and curvilinear design which seems to develop freely in relation to the rectilinear and parallel bodies of buildings.

This fluidity of the ground floor plan makes it possible to establish a diagonal path and visual permeabilities through the project.

This visual device ensures the link between the North-East corner of the project, which constitutes the main entrance, and the natural spaces of the banks of the Rhône and the Gerland park located to the South-West of the project. This route also provides service to the various entrance halls.

Nearly 2000 m² of green spaces accompany this passage. They are installed between the buildings and the facades of the ground floor. There are 23 tall trees and 16 varietals.

The gardens and alleys benefit the occupants of the buildings. They develop as an extension of public spaces.

The terraces on the first floor which cover the curved outskirts of the ground floors are converted into accessible outdoor spaces. Their floor is made of wooden decking.