New Polaris District in Nantes, France by LAN Architects

Article source: LAN Architects

The architecture firms of LAN, Abinal & Ropars and Atelier Stéphane Fernandez deliver the new Polaris district in Nantes

This 1.5-hectare lot (3.70658 acres), facing the Loire River and the former site of the Brossette Company’s warehouses, is now home to six new, mixed-use buildings, one of which is a panoramic 18-story tower.

Polaris is the fruit of collaborative design effort with LAN originating the master plan and the main urban principles governing the development. They also were the lead architecture firm working with Abinal et Ropars and Atelier Stéphane Fernandez.

Image Courtesy © Fabrice Fouillet

• Architects: LAN Architects
• Project: New Polaris District
• Location: Nantes, France
• Photography: Fabrice Fouillet, Julien Lanoo, Stéphane Chalmeau, Charly Broyez, Cyrille Weiner
• Clients: Kaufman & Broad, Samoa SPL, Smets/UAPS
• Fluides' Studies: ALBDO
• Structure Studies: BETAP and SERBA
• HEQ Studies: Franck Boutté Consultants
• Economist: BMF
• Landscapist: Base
• Environment Studies: Burgeap
• VRD Studies: Safege
• Cost of Works: €38,000,000 excl. VAT
• Surface Area: 34,760 m² (floor area)

Image Courtesy © Fabrice Fouillet

The site is located at the intersection of several formal systems. In this heterogeneous context, the new Polaris city block plays a pivotal role of ensuring continuity and the harmonious intersection of these systems.

Polaris is home to the new 10,000-m² campus (107,639 ft²) of the Vatel Hospitality School. The campus is comprised of classrooms, a teaching restaurant, a brasserie, a café open to the public, as well as a student residence with 300 apartments.

Image Courtesy © Fabrice Fouillet

Image Courtesy © Fabrice Fouillet

The program also includes another 250 housing units, approximately 6,500 m² ( ) of offices and 600 m² for additional activities which are distributed among the various lots of the development. Each shared space is designed to enable unobstructed perspectives of the distant skyline of the city’s historic center.

Although the lot is entirely private, all the outdoor areas are open to the city. The district, transformed into an entirely pedestrian zone, has a central pathway leading to the heart of the development. Imagined as an empty space into which one penetrates, it serves as a unified, and welcoming public space that connecting the buildings on this block with each other and with their environment.

Image Courtesy © Charly Broyez

Image Courtesy © Cyrille Weiner

Image Courtesy © Charly Broyez

Image Courtesy © Charly Broyez

Image Courtesy © Cyrille Weiner

Image Courtesy © Cyrille Weiner

Image Courtesy © Julien Lanoo

Image Courtesy © Julien Lanoo

Image Courtesy © Julien Lanoo

Image Courtesy © Fabrice Fouillet

Image Courtesy © Julien Lanoo

Image Courtesy © Julien Lanoo

Image Courtesy © Julien Lanoo

Image Courtesy © Julien Lanoo

Image Courtesy © Julien Lanoo

Image Courtesy © LAN Architects

Image Courtesy © LAN Architects

Image Courtesy © LAN Architects

Image Courtesy © LAN Architects

Image Courtesy © LAN Architects

Image Courtesy © LAN Architects

Image Courtesy © LAN Architects

Tags: France, Nantes

Categories: Building, Cafe, Campus, Garage, Hostel, Housing Development, Master Plan, Mixed use, Office Building, office Complex, Office space, Offices, Parking, Residential, Restaurant, School, Shop, Tower, Warehouse

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