Paris Regional Program
Experience Paris through a whole new lens on Friday, 27 September, when attendees will have the opportunity to encounter the City of Light through a rich and engaging program. The program covers La Defense, Europe’s first purpose-built central business district, now undergoing a major reimagining, as well as tall building sites throughout the city. These include bold new projects such as Trinity and Tour Triangle, as well as radical redevelopments of 20th-century edifices, such as Tour Ariane and Tour Pleyel. Conceived in conjunction with major transportation investments, these projects are transforming the city into a greener, more equitable, and more accessible metropolis, heralding an exciting new era for the French capital. The day concludes with an exciting conversation around regional planning projects and objectives, happening in parallel.
Program Outline
| 8:00–9:00 AM | Light Breakfast and Registration, Tour Trinity |
| 9:00–11:00 AM | Opening Session: La Défense: Revolutionary Renewal |
| 11:00 AM–1:00 PM | Off-Site Tours—La Défense (choose one): • Altiplano • Legende • Tour Ariane • Tour Aurore • Tour First • Tour Saint-Gobain |
| 1:00–2:00 PM | Lunch Break, Tour Ariane |
| 2:00–2:45 PM | Travel to Various Tours via Metro |
| 2:45–5:15 PM | Off-Site Tours—Height in the Urban Context (choose one): • Tour Triangle + Parc des Expo • Tour Pleyel + Village Olympique + La Communale • Tribunal de Paris + Clichy Batignolles • Wood Up / Berlier / Duo and Bruneseau District • La Félicité (Morland Mixite Capitale) + Notre Dame Surroundings |
| 5:15–6:00 PM | Travel to Closing Session at Pullman Tour Eiffel via Metro |
| 6:00–9:00 PM | Closing Session and Cocktail Reception: Paris, City of Tomorrow |
Registration
The Paris regional program can be added to the London core conference package during the “Agenda” step of the check out process. Alternatively, the Paris regional program is also offered as a stand-alone registration. Choose the “Additional Programs Only (No conference)” ticket if you do not intend to join us in London first. To see registration rates and register, visit the registration page here.
Travel
Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from London for the Paris regional program. We strongly encourage attendees to book the Eurostar train (see details on the Travel Information page here).
Hotel
Due to the early start of the program in La Défense, attendees are encouraged to travel on Thursday evening and stay at a hotel in La Défense. See our recommended hotel options here.
Confirmed Sponsors—Paris
Platinum
Gold
Silver
Morning Off-Site Program Options (choose one):
11:00 AM–1:00 PM, all are a short walk from the opening session at Tour Trinity.
Click any of the locations below to learn more:
Altiplano
Overlooking the city of Puteaux on the southern esplanade of Paris La Défense (Villon district), Altiplano began life as the Île-de-France Building in 1982 underwent a complete reconditioning and two-story extension in 2020. In line with the change that is currently taking place in Paris La Défense, Altiplano’s 57,000 square meters of offices, services and shops offer another point of view on tertiary use and set new standards. Altiplano has an active base that diversifies and energizes the landscape of the district, a stone’s throw from the Esplanade. Altiplano was designed by B. Architecture, and the repositioning of the building was led by Orféo Développement as delegated project manager. The building is bathed in natural light, generously vegetated, and open to the outside. It offers generous patios and loggias, as well as vast terraces in the sky that will allow users to develop a unique art of working in La Défense.
Image Credits: Courtesy of Altiplano
Legende
Nicolas Salmeron & Pilvi Haitunen, BSTLL Architectures
The iconic tower PB6, delivered in 2001 in La Defense Business District by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners with SRA architects, was recently renamed LEGENDE tower. Also formerly known as Tower EDF, this rebranding follows a significant technical upgrade allowing tenant EDF to reduce its occupation to approximately half of the property, and transforming LEGENDE tower into a modern, multi-tenant skyscraper.
BSTLL Architecture, in charge of the renovation of both common areas and office floors, has drawn upon the existing heritage of the building, whilst elevating the space to meet new and emerging expectations of the workplace. The arrival sequence perfectly illustrates these objectives: existing materials have been retained whilst the overall sense of arrival is enhanced with new features including a digital wall, lounge furniture and plants. The impressive reception hall leads to comprehensively reimagined catering areas. Services and amenities have been enhanced throughout the building, providing an unrivaled hotel-style offering – notably across the two upper floors (39th and 40th), with shared business center, coworking spaces, VIP lounges, panoramic restaurant, auditorium, fitness and wellness areas.
Image Credits: (Left) ©Steven Henry; (Right) ©JLL France
Tour Ariane
In the La Défense district, architects Nouvelle AOM (Franklin Azzi Architecture, ChartierDalix Architectes, Hardel Le Bihan Architectes) have reinterpreted Tour Ariane 50 years after its original design by architect Jean de Mailly, with the primary goal of reducing energy consumption. To achieve this while creating a clean and regular architectural expression, the original façade (known for its cruciform aluminium shields) is transformed by Nouvelle AOM into a new “dress of light”, featuring glass in front of alternating prefabricated concrete panels and porthole windows of the primary envelope. The proposals place the users at the centre of the project: the base will host functions like those of a grand hotel; the mezzanine level will feature a business centre with an auditorium, meeting rooms and a foyer, while the more transparent entrance pavilion offers services that firmly anchor the tower in the neighbourhood. This project, with 90% (in 2021) occupancy – accommodating 4,000 users – is a model of reuse, with 100% of the glazing and 210 of the aluminium shields being recycled.
Image Credits: ©Nouvelle AOM
Tour Aurore
The 1970 Tour Aurore underwent a significant renovation in 2021, involving the major restructuring and extension of the existing tower by six floors, as well as the deconstruction/reconstruction of the adjacent building. The existing façade was removed and replaced with a high-performance alternative, while maintaining the tower’s identity. A range of new services is available through the addition of an adjacent eight-story pavilion, including an auditorium and accessible rooftop.
Image Credits: VIGUIER
Tour First
In addition to being the tallest building in France, Tour First is an extraordinary re-imagining of the 1974 Tour AXA. During this transformation, the tower grew from 159 to 231 meters, adding 16 floors. The design retains the integrity of the original tower, while providing a modern interpretation of the concept and vastly improving the environmental performance and internal conditions and circulation. The new tower and podium reorganize the entry levels of the building, reinvigorate the entrance hall and improve circulation. Seven sky gardens are created in strategic positions and provide informal meeting and breakout spaces. The three wings of the original are now of variable heights, giving the building a dynamism that it previously lacked. The façade “fragments” into a composition of folded and transparent panels filled with stainless steel tubes or individual triangular glass pieces.
Image Credits: Hufton + Crow
Tour Saint-Gobain
Light is at play throughout the crystalline form of Tour Saint-Gobain, headquarters of the company that created the legendary Hall of Mirrors for the Palace of Versailles. The tower’s novel geometry—rhombohedra and cubes with rhombic and parallelogram-shaped faces—results in an enigmatic expression of rhythm, resonance, and harmony. Its prismatic architecture is a perfect illustration of the aesthetic qualities of innovative glazing, with its characteristic properties of light transmission, thermal insulation, and low emissivity. The structure uses three distinct types of glass: a product with high transparency and reflectivity is used on the exterior, while on the interior office levels and at the reception and showroom levels, two other glass products lend to the building’s environmental performance without compromising transparency.
Image Credits: (Left) ©Sergio Grazia; (Right) ©Laurent Kronental
Afternoon Off-Site Program Options (choose one):
2:45–5:15 PM, all are accessible by Metro from lunch location at La Défense.
Click any of the locations below to learn more:
- Tour Triangle + Parc des Expo
- Tour Pleyel + Village Olympique + La Communale
- Tribunal de Paris + Clichy Batignolles
- Wood Up / Berlier / Duo and Bruneseau District
- La Félicité (Morland Mixite Capitale) + Notre Dame Surroundings
Tour Triangle + Parc des Expo
Designed by Herzog & de Meuron and developed by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and AXA IM Alts acting on behalf of clients, Triangle will contribute to Paris’ environmental transition thanks to a number of innovations: energy sobriety, extensive use of renewable energies, and priority given to low-carbon mobility. Upon completion, this new Parisian landmark of 90,000 square meters will comprise 70,000 square meters of generous office spaces, a 128-room hotel, and 15,000 square meters of services open to all, such as a nursery, a health center, a cultural center, convenience stores, co-meeting and coworking spaces, a viewing gallery, panoramic elevators, and restaurants. Triangle will become a unique new destination in Paris.
Image Credits: L’Autre Image
Tour Pleyel + Village Olympique + La Communale
Tour Pleyel, an office tower completed in 1973 in the northern suburb of Saint Denis, has been converted into a luxury hotel in advance of the 2024 Olympic Games. This will be accompanied by two new adjoining towers and a 6,000 square-meter conference center. The nearby Stade de France is a key venue in the games, and the entire area is under regeneration. The tour includes the perimeter of the Village Olympique and La Communale, a former factory converted into a “third place,” cultural center and food hall.
Image Credits: ©163Ateliers
Tribunal de Paris + Clichy Batignolles
The 160-meter-tall courthouse, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and completed in 2018, accommodates up to 8,000 people per day. The vision for the Tribunal de Paris was that it would communicate new vision of Justice that is modern and humanistic. The facades’ transparency, as well as the lobby’s dimensions, enable the public spaces to be open and communicate service to citizens. Both the public and users benefit from warm spaces, in particular the public cafeteria and the exterior green terraces. Another key idea from the design team was to house all these spaces in one single, important building, which would be capable, by its size and importance, of becoming the starting point for the redevelopment of the area around the Porte de Clichy. The tour also includes Clichy Batignolles, the redevelopment of 54 hectares of industrial land into the verdant Martin Luther King Park and a mixed-use district.
Image Credits: Sergio Grazia
Wood Up / Berlier / Duo and Bruneseau District
The Bruneseau district, a 100,000 square-meter brownfield site along the Seine near the border with Ivry-sur-Seine, is one of several post-industrial areas targeted for redevelopment by the Société d’Étude, de Maitrise d’Ouvrage et d’Aménagement Parisienne (SEMAPA). A presentation at the project field office will be given by SEMAPA. Some of the most recognizable buildings to emerge from this regeneration are the timber structures Le Berlier and Wood’Up. The latter stands 50 meters and 17 floors, accommodating 132 housing units in an all-timber structure. The technical challenge and the constraints linked to this type of construction were the starting point for an unprecedented typological exploration. The tour will conclude with a visit to the top of the recently completed Tours Duo.
Image Credits: Local Architecture Network
La Félicité (Morland Mixite Capitale) + Notre Dame Surroundings
The former Préfecture de Paris on Boulevard Morland is situated on the banks of the River Seine in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The building, which originally housed city administration, was completed around 1960 by the architect Albert Laprade. David Chipperfield Architects, in partnership with CALQ and the developer Emerige, have teamed to create the Morland Mixité Capitale, a refurbishment, remodeling and extension of the existing high-rise buildings. The previously introverted complex was made accessible to the public, transforming it into a lively and open place with the character of campus and emanating a positive effect on the overall neighborhood. The tour also includes the surroundings of the Notre Dame cathedral, which, in addition to being rebuilt after a devastating 2019 fire, is the locus of a newly reconfigured urban space. The tour provides an exterior view of the new Flèche (Spire) de Notre Dame, one of the most significant landmarks of the city.
Image Credits: (Left) ©Sebastien Veronese; (Right) ©Bureau Bas Smets
