Scientist residence – Paris^e
 
The B1B4 tower is a residence for scientists located at the edge of Paris in the new Massena Bruneseau neighborhood. Like a mini-Manhattan, this district is characterized by the duality of aerial towers and heavy underground transit infrastructures. The project reflects this duality with two distinct and contrasting elements. On the one hand, the tower’s heavy concrete podium, with access to the subway, links to the public sphere of the street, the ground and the subterranean realm. It is home to “the house of scientists”, a program of collective activities conceived to encourage face-to-face encounter. The upper part, an aerial wooden structure covered by a glass façade, interacts with the sky and the nearby towers. It is here that the researchers live. This duality reflects the day-to-day lives of scientists, alternating between moments of intense loneliness dedicated to research work, and moments of encounter when they meet, relax, and exchange ideas.