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Great architecture resonates through conceptual and technical execution. Addressing theoretical and practical constraints, these projects challenge conventional building methods. A practice known for melding art, architecture and engineering, Renzo Piano Building Workshop has redefined a wide range of building types through conceptual rigor and elegant detailing.
As critic Ada Louise Huxtable once said, “Renzo Piano celebrates structure in a perfect union of technology and art.” Bridging craft and material logic in subtle ways, RPBW utilizes the latest construction techniques to create a rare humanism in the firm’s work.
The design is the largest law courts complex in Europe, and takes the form of a slim, transparent, 160m tower of stacked volumes. As a starting point for the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the neighborhood around the Porte de Clichy, the project is made up of a Pedestal, five to eight stories high, which integrates the lower part of the Tower. The Tower, which is set on top of the Pedestal, is made up of three superimposed parallelepipeds which hover above each other.
Manufactured by Schüco
The scale of the Paris Courthouse building is reduced by breaking it down into four stacked volumes of decreasing size. The tower is kept narrow to permit a high level of natural light and views out of windows manufactured by Schüco. The project’s double-skin facade features a vertical strip housing the panoramic lifts, which also opens up to views out over Paris. The Schüco products help meet sustainability goals through natural ventilation and careful attention to energy loads.
The building’s façades are fully glazed. On all three blocks of the tower, the east and west façades extend beyond the building, creating fine glass “frames” that increase the sense of lightness. Additional windows along the glazed façade overlook the forecourt, allowing natural light to penetrate to the heart of the building.
Fitted with parquet and steamed-beech-wood paneling, nearly all rooms all daylight to filter through the façades. Behind the courtrooms, the council chamber and the deliberation rooms are also fitted out in wood, and are visible from the outside through the glazed façade.
Manufactured by Saint-Gobain, Guardian Glass
The building’s axis is aligned with the north-south diagonal of the adjacent Martin Luther King park, which anchors the Clichy–Batignolles urban development zone. As a result, the building’s southern façade faces Paris, while the north looks toward Clichy. The park’s diagonal line is strengthened by a “visual corridor” that continues northward up toward Clichy, running between the Courthouse’s east façade and the Maison des Avocats.
Glazing on the top three volumes of the tower extend beyond the façade. This was added to create the effect of transparency. The building is entered at ground-floor level via a piazza on the Avenue de la Porte-de-Clichy. Inside the first volume, the vast concourse is visible from the exterior through a clear glazed façade. The idea was to conceptually reinforce transparency and orientation throughout the building.
The project includes three atria with daylight pouring in from the glazed skylights in a roof terrace. Looking up from the ground floor, visitors can see glazed balustrades and the open structure of the building with a series of galleries bathed in natural light.
Manufactured by ISSOL
Integrated within the façade system are rows of photovoltaics to help meet the project’s sustainability goals. These combine with the project’s thermal inertia and rainwater collection to help set a new benchmark for energy consumption in tall buildings. Two vertical “spines” on the east- and west-facing façades link the three floating Tower blocks. On the east side, the spine is made up of both a succession of photovoltaic panels that line a fissure.
The west-facing spine is also made up of photovoltaic panels, but includes balconies with panoramic views, created as pleasant outdoor spaces. Vertical and horizontal photovoltaic panels line the east- and west-facing façades, creating a vibrancy accentuated by the light that reflects off them. They also demonstrate a desire to move toward using alternative energy in public buildings.
The Paris courthouse recently won France’s highest architectural honor, the Prix de l’Équerre d’Argent, and showcases how beauty can be created through concept and construction.
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