OFFICE 286

Combining retail with housing, this project is part of an ongoing strategy to densify and connect the urban fabric of the historic Marais district in the heart of Paris. The new Galeries Lafayette department store is thus envisioned as a pedestrian link, inserted within a partly demolished existing urban block, and connecting with the Fondation Lafayette Anticipations through a sequence of open spaces, courtyards and passages. The main volume of the new building has a structural grid of square pillars and a glazed facade that opens to the side street. From the main thoroughfare, this intervention remains hidden behind the existing facade, which has been fully preserved and restored. Only the ground floor reveals the porosity of the entire block, which leads to the central courtyard connected to the surrounding buildings. This courtyard contributes to the natural ventilation, and together with new green roofs reduces the urban heat island effect. While the department store stretches across three open floors, the upper floors are reserved for housing. The apartment units occupy the existing renovated building and form three terraced volumes above the department store base, with elevated green courtyards in between them.