jakob + macfarlane's winning entry for the reinventing cities competition

launched in december 2017, the reinventing cities competition is an initiative for innovators to transform underutilized urban spaces in their communities into carbon neutral and resilient urban projects. the innovative and replicable climate solutions will serve as examples for other cities to reimagine urban development and to drastically reduce the carbon footprint of new and existing buildings, which today account for more than 50% of emissions in C40 cities.

envisioned by jakob + macfarlane, odyssee pleyel is one of the winning entries for the city of paris. it illustrates the achievements of carbon neutral development by proposing a zero-carbon retrofit of hall de décuvage pleyel — an industrial building located in paris-saint-denis.

all images courtesy of jakob + macfarlane

reflecting the historical industrial heritage of saint-denis, odyssee pleyel by jakob + macfarlane has been designed to be energy efficient thanks to the use of hybrid photovoltaic and thermal solar cells and zinc-air batteries. the revitalized space will host science workshops for young people and serve as home to as an innovation studio for start-ups, industrial partners and NGOs to share their clean energy, climate, and sustainable development solutions. through the innovative modular design, incorporating wood construction principles, the future-proofed building will generate its own renewable energy, becoming entirely self-sufficient and thus carbon-neutral.

project info:

client: EDC SA
completion: winning competition C40 reinventing cities may 2019
site: hall de décuvage pleyel, saint-denis, france
surface: 3,840 sqm
program: mixed use building, exhibition hall, glass house, offices, conference room, restaurant
credits: jakob+macfarlane
team: SETEC bâtiment (sustainable) / SNAIK (lighting) / les fermes de gally (landscape) / ETIC (solidary and social economy spaces manager)