06.30.23
La Nouvelle AOM réinterprète la tour Ariane à la Défense 50 ans après sa conception.

THE NOUVELLE AOM ARCHITECTS' COLLECTIVE - FRANKLIN AZZI, CHARTIERDALIX, HARDEL LE BIGAN - REINTERPRETS THE ARIANE TOWER AT LA DÉFENSE 50 YEARS AFTER ITS CONCEPTION.

ARIANE, AN ICON OF LA DÉFENSE

The Ariane Tower was designed by Jean de Mailly, one of the three architects advising on the development of La Défense. He was also responsible for the CNIT and the Nobel Tower, now the Tour Initiale. Built in 1975, it is one of a number of second-generation towers that broke free from the strict rules of the 1964 master plan for urban development. Ariane thus contributes to the diversification of the architectural landscape. Ariane is a rectangular parallelepiped tower. Its northern facade opens onto the slab of La Défense. Its 33 storeys rise along a central reinforced-concrete core, around which open-plan, modular floors are arranged. As was customary, the 33rd floor housed offices and the management restaurant.

Its facade, alternating prefabricated concrete panels and "porthole" windows, is protected by a "second skin" composed of cruciform aluminum shields that form a metallic coat in front of the concrete, the Tower's architectural signature. In 1995, 23 years after its construction, the Tower was renamed Ariane, and underwent its first transformation with the creation of a 29-metre-long, 27-metre-high reception pavilion on the forecourt. Following the modernization of the office floors in the early 2000s, architects Petraccone and Vodar further enlarged the entrance by creating a transitional space directly on the slab in place of the existing lobby. The renovation, begun in 2005, extends all the way to the elevators.

METAMORPHOSIS: NEW ARIANE

The Ariane renovation project is part of a dialogue with the architectural and structural features of the existing Tower, to both reveal and transform it into a 21st-century Tower. The architects wanted to reinvent a place and programs to put users back at the heart of the project. The classic three-part composition - the base, the body and the attic - has been emphasized: the Tower now has an active base, open to La Défense. New services are offered through an entrance pavilion and a business center on the first level of the plinth. The activation of these floors, open to the public space, anchors the Tower in its environment and offers users new living spaces. The work carried out on the base's interior spaces is a perfect blend of the old and the hyper-contemporary, to ensure that the building responds sustainably to new uses.

At a time when people are becoming increasingly aware of climate change, we need to reduce energy consumption, and this is the main driver behind our current thinking on the Ariane Tower. Intervening today on its facades involves an awareness of all these factors. The project proposed by Nouvelle AOM involves replacing the original façade with a new skin, a glass "robe of light" placed in front of the original concrete. This second skin will, of course, improve thermal insulation, but it will also be an opportunity to create a new architectural expression: contemporary, uncluttered and regular. The Tower's facades are made up of repetitive, unitary modules. The design of the facade corresponds to the constructive framework of the existing concrete structure and envelope. Each module consists of a rectangular frame of transparent double glazing in front of the portholes, and opaque glazing in front of the spandrels. The architectural intention is to minimize the visual impact of the frame, leaving as much of the concrete surface visible as possible. At night, the interior lighting of the office floors will reveal the original shape of the portholes through alternating solids and voids.

The pavilion, which is entirely transparent and benefits from natural solar protection thanks to its northerly orientation, will allow for porous views and uses from the outside onto the esplanade and vice versa. The pavilion's main north-south grid follows that of the Tower's façade.

TECHNICAL SHEET

Program: Environmental renovation and redevelopment of reception areas.

Developer: Paris La Défense

Owner: Euro Ariane SAS represented by Baumont Real Estate Capital and Aquila Asset Management
Project management assistant: Redman

Project manager :
Lead architect: Nouvelle AOM (Franklin Azzi, ChartierDalix, Hardel le Bihan)
Structural design: Setec BAT,
Facade contractor: TESS,
Engineering: Setec TPI,
Acoustics: Lamoureux,
Lighting: Cosi,
Economist: GVI,
MOEX: Artelia

Environmental profile: Overall building energy consumption -30% after works.

Certified project: BREEAM RFO 2015, Very Good level

Schedule: Construction 2022, Delivery 2024

Images: © Artefactory/Nouvelle AOM

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