The “Home” project by French architects Harmonic & Masson and Comte Vollenweider Architectes is a first in Paris: it is the first residential building since the 1970s to reach a height of 50 meters.

The “grand ensembles”, the large French housing estates located on the periphery, do not have the best reputation. Time and again there are riots there, which have recently also reached the city centers. The authorities have a correspondingly allergic reaction: any building that is longer than 30 meters and has a repetitive arrangement of windows and balconies immediately brings the unpopular typology to mind. The last buildings date back to the 1970s, such as the “Olympiades” and “Front de Seine” estates in Paris. The city then stipulated that no building in the city center could exceed a height of 37 meters. The architectural idea of large housing estates seemed to have been forgotten.

Since 2011, residential towers up to 50 meters high and office buildings up to 180 meters high have been allowed to be built again. The “Home” project by French architects Harmonic & Masson and Comte Vollenweider Architectes is therefore a novelty: it is the first residential building since the 1970s to reach a height of 50 meters. It is located in the Paris Rive Gauche district, which is otherwise characterized by architectural banalities: if you stroll along the main axis of the district, the Avenue de France, monotonous shopping and office buildings line up one after the other. The new housing construction is a welcome change. Even the otherwise very critical Parisian newspaper “Le Monde” thought so.

The new residential building consists of two towers that are connected by a five-storey base and combine offices, private apartments, social housing and parking spaces. The often criticized monotony of large buildings was deliberately avoided: both the façades and the floor plans are varied and structured differently.

The two towers differ in shape and orientation: the first is stepped and 37 meters high, while the second consists of twisted prisms and rises 50 meters into the air. The resulting plasticity allows for an expressive façade design: instead of monotonous concrete slabs, the architects used silver or gold-colored aluminum panels. In addition to the playfulness of the façade, the geometry naturally allows for optimal lighting and a magnificent view of the city – everything here refers to the architecture of the new millennium. One is reminded of the architecture of the Ørestad district in Copenhagen.

The “old” towers of the city can be seen from the individual terraces of the apartments: the glazed archives of Dominique Perrault’s National Library from the 1990s and the eight blocks of the large “Olympiades” housing estate. New high-rise buildings are being planned by Edouard François and Jean Nouvel. The new housing development in Paris Rive Gauche is its forerunner – a mediator between past and future.

The Rhine-Ruhr region is facing an exciting new challenge: the vision for an “Olympic Stadium Rhine-Ruhr” could become the starting point for a forward-looking urban quarter.

Planned as a temporary sports venue for the 2040 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the stadium will not only serve as an arena for global sporting events, but also as a basis for the creation of sustainable and resource-conserving urban development. With a clear focus on the circular economy, modular construction and climate-friendly design, this project is setting new standards for the urban planning and architecture of the future.

The “Rhine-Ruhr Olympic Stadium” will not just be a sports facility in the conventional sense. Rather, it will serve as a central building block for the development of a new, liveable urban quarter. The vision is based on the concept of using the stadium as a temporary facility during the Olympic Games and then converting it into a modular, sustainable structure that can continue to be used after the Games. This modular approach allows the stadium to be easily repurposed for later use as housing, office space, sports facilities and kindergartens.

The stadium is at the center of a new quarter that is being built on a former industrial wasteland in the Rhine-Ruhr region. Due to its central location and excellent connections, this brownfield site offers the ideal conditions for the development of a district that will not only offer modern architecture, but also a high degree of sustainability in its structure and use.

The “Rhine-Ruhr Olympic Stadium” has been geared towards sustainability from the outset. It is not only about the environmentally friendly design of the stadium itself, but also about the long-term use and conversion of the entire infrastructure. The concept is based on a modular construction method in which materials and resources are used as efficiently as possible in order to minimize the project’s ecological footprint.

The planned use of the former industrial site is a prime example of sustainable urban development. By consistently applying the principles of the circular economy, the area will be designed as a resource-conserving and climate-friendly living space for the future. After the Olympic Games, the stadium will become a symbol of progressive urban planning that meets the requirements of climate protection and resource conservation.

In addition, the entire district is being planned as a “city of short distances”. This means that living, working and living spaces are connected in such a way that residents have to travel as few distances as possible by car. This encourages the use of public transport and cycle paths, thus helping to reduce CO2 emissions.

A key component of the project is the close collaboration between architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture. The renowned landscape architecture firm geskes.hack from Berlin, together with the architecture and urban planning firm planquadrat Elfers Geskes Krämer GmbH, has developed a concept that sees the “Rhine-Ruhr Olympic Stadium” not only as a sports venue, but also as the center of a green, open space.

A large park is to be created in the center of the new urban quarter, which will serve as a meeting place for residents and visitors. The park will not only be a place for recreation, but also an important part of the district’s environmentally friendly infrastructure. Green spaces, water features and sustainable horticultural concepts will be combined here to improve the microclimate while creating a place for social interaction and the common good.

The use of rainwater management systems and the promotion of biodiversity are also taken into account. The park will thus not only contribute to recreation, but also to the ecological stabilization of the urban space and sustainably increase the quality of life of the residents.

The “Rhine-Ruhr Olympic Stadium” project represents a significant step in the development of sustainable cities. It combines innovative concepts of urban planning and architecture with a sustainable approach that meets the challenges of climate change. The modular construction of the stadium and the integration of the circular economy into the overall development of the district will create a model that shows how sports infrastructure can be designed in a sustainable and resource-saving way.

The new quarter will not only be a modern living space for the population, but also an example of future urban development. It will meet the demand for housing, workplaces and open spaces and at the same time play a pioneering role in terms of sustainability and resource conservation.

The “Rhine-Ruhr Olympic Stadium” is more than just a sports facility. It is the centerpiece of an innovative and sustainable urban project that not only meets the requirements of modern urban development, but also makes an important contribution to climate protection and resource conservation. With a clear focus on sustainability, modularity and the circular economy, this urban quarter will be a model for the cities of the future and create a lasting legacy for generations to come.

Find out more about the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and its impact on urban planning and architecture here.