British firm RSHP was recently announced the winner of an architectural competition held by the real estate development arm of BNP Paribas for a mixed-use lot within the La Défense business district in Paris.

The project aims to bring back to life the “urban commercial district currently eclipsed by road infrastructure.” The design will also embody the district's sustainability goals, taking steps to minimize both embodied and operational carbon emissions.

The main element of the proposal is a pair of buildings with prefabricated wooden structures designed to reduce both building waste and built-in carbon emissions and construction time. One of these will have a sleek form accommodating 15 residential floors, while the other will be low with a scaled green roof and six to eight floors of flexible office space.

The buildings will flank a landscaped promenade, which will run through a series of new public spaces, including pocket parks. It will also connect to pedestrian and bicycle paths as well as the surrounding public transportation network.

The RSHP proposal will be complemented with various mixed leisure, sports and entertainment facilities. This will include a 1,400-square-meter food court, an indoor market, a terrace, climbing facilities, yoga spaces, and a 250-square-meter event pavilion.

To achieve the district's low-carbon goals, RSHP’s proposal focuses on the use of energy-efficient and passive design strategies and the use of recyclable interiors. The buildings will also be designed for future adaptations. In this way, the project would follow the guidelines of the Parisian district, which would aim to become “the world's first post-carbon business district.”

It is being developed with Paris-based AREP and landscape architecture firm Vogt. Engineering firm Ingerop and consultants EODD and Socotec are also part of the team.