David Chipperfield Architects Berlin and the French developer Emerige have received planning permission for Morland Mixité Capitale in Paris. Construction is scheduled to start in December 2017.
The project will involve the refurbishment, remodelling and extension of the existing ensemble, designed by the architect Albert Laprade for the prefecture of Paris and built between 1957 and 1964. Designed to have a campus feel, Morland Mixité Capitale will accommodate a wide range of uses including housing, offices and a hotel.
The current, rather forbidding complex will be transformed into a lively, inviting space, with vaulted arcades at ground-floor level leading to a new public route from the Boulevard Morland to the River Seine. The arcades will run beneath two new buildings facing the boulevard and the river, which will form bridges between the existing wings, with generous new courtyards within.
The top two floors of the central tower will be open to the public, offering views across the city, along with an inhabitable installation by Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann from Studio Other Spaces, as well as a bar and restaurant.