OFFICE 317

The transformation of an iconic modernist building in Paris presumed not only its renovation, but also rearrangement of its entire urban setting. A 180m-long slab is positioned above the Montparnasse train station, facing the square and the Montparnasse tower. This office building also encloses a park in the back, which was built over the railway tracks and remains largely inaccessible. The intervention involved replacement of the existing glass-clad facade for increased energy efficiency, reinforcement of the load-bearing structure, and subsequent gradual extension of the lower floor slabs into balconies. The slanted section makes a new silhouette and a generous base of the building. This enabled the double-height ground floor to be more public and porous, with the main entrance organised through a garden above the train station. The new garden and the existing park in the back thus form a continuous green space. Furthermore, an incision with escalators in the base of the building enables direct access from the lower street level to the park level. The radical transformation of the stark and somewhat secluded edifice is thus simultaneously contributing to the users of the building, but also the public at large.