MVRDV wins urban renewal competition with the beam

‘the beam’ by MVRDV, villeneuve d’ascq, franceimage © MVRDV

the town of villeneuve d’ascq in northern france will be undergoing a major urban revival beginning in 2015. renowned practice MVRDV has justwon the competition to begin the process of renewing the city with their proposal titled ‘the beam’. centered around the three pillars of ‘identity’, ‘diversity’, and ‘densification’, the stacked structures will hover over the highway and contain a hotel, offices and retail space spanning over an area of 15,000 m2 – built at the site of a former petrol station. the building is only a piece of the master plan that involves the densification of the urban center whose infrastructure will be re-worked with more rational pedestrian zones, green courtyards, and logical infrastructure. existing architecture around the new project will be extended to form blocks with public landscape features that will infuse the disordered center with an updated organization and contemporary iconic presence. current parking lots will be relocated to an under ground car park with space for 274 automobiles, clearly creating separate spheres of habitation between man and machine.MVRDV will be working with ADIM nord developers to realize the project.

street-level pedestrian areasimage © MVRDV

image © MVRDV

aerial viewimage © MVRDV