London and Paris-based architecture firm Matteo Cainer Architects designs a two-storey penthouse atop Paris' old apartment, which is currently under construction and expected to be completed at the end of this year.

Named ­La Forêt Urbaine, the 1,433-square-metre space is designed as "a completely green luxury penthouse" by following the traces of the existing apartment's concrete skeleton to evoke the same pattern on its new façade.

Presenting a fragmented facade configuration on its outer skin, the house features free-flowing spaces in the interior to provide magnificent view to Bois de Boulogne and the Jardin du Ranelagh, with 360-degree views of the city’s historic monuments, from the Tour Eiffel to La Défense, Les Invalides, and Longchamp. 

Encompassing two floors on top floors of Parisian apartment block, the new penthouse is fragmented by countless rooms, bathrooms, walk-in closets, kitchens and service rooms, the apartment, abandoned for over thirty years, which creates a total makeover to become a light-flooded space surrounded by vegetation and reinterpreted as an ‘eye on the city’.

"The driving ideas for the renovation were to bring in the surrounding parks through pockets of vegetation within and around the living spaces, to create a sequence of free-flowing spaces, to offer uninterrupted views across Paris and the sky, and to wash the interior with bright and dappled light," said Matteo Cainer Architects. 

"Initially, the apartment had to undergo an in-depth gutting. Subsequently, an important structural phase consolidated the existing structure and created a new structural frame for the new architectural project."

Both interiors and exteriors are specifically designed in every detail, from door handles, bathroom sinks, and specific lights to built-in furniture and newly conceived stairs and double-height spaces. The bedrooms and the kitchen will be fully equipped with the latest comforts, design innovations and amenities. 

The principal interior public space is designed to evoke a clearing in a forest, the traditional gathering place in nature that offers both light and tranquility. Following this concept, a large landscaped patio open to the sky was designed as part of the dining room, lounge and fireplace. 

"The overall balance of geometry and proportion and the use of unfinished yet refined materials create a delicate contrast between rough and polished," said the studio.

"From concrete finishes to wood inlays, from stone to vegetation, the new penthouse not only establishes a unique dialogue between light and shadow, grace and solidity but also transforms a once awkward apartment into an open, elegant, and serene living space."

Regarding the details, the studio stated that "ringed with glass walls that, once raised up, transform the adjacent spaces into one entire living room area around this central ‘natural element’, the patio redefines the living spaces as an urban forest high above the dense city street-scape."

The roof level, which offers truly magnificent views, is the real crown of the Forêt Urbaine concept. Conceived with a specific landscape design and different areas of interaction, from a dining area to a lounge space, an open air cinema, an enchanted garden and a fire place, the roof level also includes a light structural-glass veranda and an entertainment and gym space, all of which are enhanced by rich vegetation evoking a contemporary ‘hanging gardens’.

Also on the roof level, connected and supported by the sculptural chimneys, is a pergola, which is the topmost roof over the entire project. Its design is a result both of its structural role to specifically lift the patio’s glass walls and of careful sun studies that determined its form and the integration of a deployable brise-soleil within its design. The result is a sophisticated pergola that creates a controlled environment and specific shaded zones.

Concept Diagram

Landscape concept

The landscape design, which is the underlying factor in the project, establishes the dialogue between nature and architecture, interior and exterior, and man and his environment. 

The result is a graceful invasion of the living spaces with colors, scents and visual scenarios, and an enchanted contemplative roof garden that has the potential to become will act as a biodiversity link between the cities’ surrounding parks. 

Pergola Diagram

The plantings, the pergola, the photovoltaic panels, in-floor heating and cooling and the use of natural ventilation make the renovation a very sustainable and low-carbon footprint project.

Pergola Diagram-2

Structure Diagram

Matteo Cainer Architects is Professional Member of World Architecture Community and the firm won the WA Award in previous Cycles with MOCAPE Shenzhen, Open Gate - Suncheon Art Platform and Timeless Cube, National Museum Of Afghanistan. The studio recently unveiled its proposal for Alvar Aalto Time Lapse Museum in Finland.

Project facts

Name: Forêt Urbaine

Architects: Matteo Cainer Architects

Location: Paris, France

State: Under construction- expected completion 2018

Program and Size: Penthouse - 1433 m2 

All images © Matteo Cainer Architects

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