A new 47-unit mixed-use building in Grenoble, France had a strict set of features specified by the client, leaving little room for design experimentation by the architect. The recessed top floor was to be flanked by two duplexes, a platform at the bottom would contain retail space and be fitted with large glazed shop windows, and large balconies and openings on the façade would allow natural light deep into the building’s interior.
With so many major design elements set in stone, the project’s architect, Maison Édouard François, began to worry the 48,000-sf building was becoming too “predictable.” What was the cure for this predictability, you ask? Snakeskin-inspired cladding, obviously.
The scaly idea was planted in one of the designers’ minds while looking at a handbag in a Prada boutique. It was determined the graphic skin of the python would blur the project and add a level of chicness the area sorely needed. The handbag was scanned, digitized, and “mapped” onto the building form, causing the windows and overhanging balconies to disappear into the reptilian patterns.
See Also: Goettsch Partners’ and Lead8’s mixed-use complex begins construction in Changchun, China
The façade was created from diamond-shaped “scales,” each one identically reproduced in cut metal. The scales were then oxidized to create the three different colors and assembled to create the design of the skin. Because the cladding was so expensive, it was only applied to the façades that required some type of screen. The result is a mixed-use building that rises like a coiled python overlooking the City of Grenoble.
Related Stories
Mixed-Use | Feb 14, 2020
Kenya’s Pinnacle Tower will be the tallest tower in Africa
ArchGroup Consultants is designing the project.
Mixed-Use | Feb 13, 2020
1010 On-The-Rhine creates a walkable destination in Cincinnati
GBBN designed the project.
Sustainability | Feb 12, 2020
KPF unveils The Pinnacle at Central Wharf, a high-performance, resilient tower
The project will reconnect Downtown Boston to the waterfront.
Mixed-Use | Feb 11, 2020
KTGY unveils designs for Downtown Superior’s Main Street mixed-use portion
The development will be built in Superior, Colo.
Mixed-Use | Feb 7, 2020
Rising to the occasion
Roof deck entertainment spaces are popular amenities that present engineering and code complexities.
Mixed-Use | Jan 27, 2020
Dubai’s One Za’abeel will have the world’s largest cantilever
Nikken Sekkei is designing the project.
Mixed-Use | Jan 17, 2020
RMJM designs conjoined, twisting towers in Hengyang, China
The towers will rise 580 feet.
Mixed-Use | Dec 18, 2019
BIG unveils River Street Waterfront Master Plan for Williamsburg
The project is a collaboration between BIG, Two Trees Management, and James Corner Field Operations.
Mixed-Use | Nov 26, 2019
Chicago’s first citizenM hotel to be part of Sterling Bay’s mixed-use Michigan Ave. development
bKL will serve as the project’s lead architect.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 25, 2019
Chicago’s long-gestating luxury condo tower nears construction
Helmut Jahn designed the project.