An iconic building, the Wonder Building revisits the traditional codes of office buildings, offering an exceptional quality of working life in a powerful and innovative architectural gesture.
"Wonder Building is a living object. It has been designed as a place where everyone can find their place. Adapted to new ways of organizing work, we have taken particular care to ensure that all spaces are conducive to conviviality. Beyond its iconic form, Wonder Building aims to become the reference for a new tertiary world where quality of life takes precedence over everything else."
Wonder Building by Coldefy. Photograph by Stéphane Aboudaram.
Wonder Building by Coldefy. Photograph by Stéphane Aboudaram.
Project description by Coldefy
A strong gesture.
In Bagnolet, facing the capital and the Greater Paris area, the Wonder Building acts as a link between two territories, symbolizing the rebirth of a contemporary and active district in the making.
Dynamic and vibrant, its architecture revisits the traditional codes of office buildings.
Lines, cut-outs, first-day staircases, and diagonals punctuate the facades and spaces, delivering a powerful composition.
The long glazed façade with horizontal lines and diagonals follows the peripheral boulevard and creates a new urban signal for the Porte de Bagnoletas much as it shields against the nuisance of the boulevard for its occupants and the inhabitants of Bagnolet.
Half of the building’s required egress stairs are placed along the face, freeing up valuable space on the floorplate at the interior of the plot. The stairs are clearly visible on the façade, slanting along the horizontal lines of the building. Sometimes exterior, this circulation becomes a vantage point from which to view the city and creates relaxing spaces that connect the different floors.
The terraces create a kind of double-skin on the peripheral boulevard side and the central garden brings freshness into the very urban space. At the heart of the building’s U-shape is a central convivial space open to the city. The offices become an everyday space, open to the neighborhood and the city in which they are located.
Wonder Building by Coldefy. Photograph by Stéphane Aboudaram.
Wonder Building by Coldefy. Photograph by Stéphane Aboudaram.
Exceptional spaces
You enter the Wonder Building through the airlock at the heart of the tree-lined patio. The purity of the interior lines is perfectly enhanced by natural light, and the interior fittings, designed by the Briand &Berthereau studio, use noble materials to create a particularly harmonious environment.
Boundaries have been abolished on the floors to create exceptional continuous spaces. the project features a standard office height of 2.90 m, which poses the technical challenge of maintaining this height throughout. Creative spaces, partitioned offices, but also open spaces, quiet areas, and shared spaces: the flexibility of the structure enables it to respond intelligently to the expectations and activities of each individual.
Unlike service staircases, the staircases placed at the periphery of the building offer a view of the outside and encourage Wonder Building occupants to use them, encouraging physical activity and opportunities for social interaction.
Finally, a new horizon emerges from the various planted outdoor terraces. The Wonder Building offers an exceptional panorama of Paris, which also contributes to providing an exceptional working environment.
Wonder Building by Coldefy. Photograph by Stéphane Aboudaram.
A virtuous and innovative building
At every stage of the project, particular attention was paid to its environmental impact.
The building was designed using a standardization and prefabrication process for the facades and timber structure, which enabled a cleaner and faster construction site than a conventional one, reducing the assembly time for a 3,300 m² level to 14 days. This fabrication process offers high performance in terms of facade waterproofing and acoustics, as well as better control over the quality of finishes.
Innovative in terms of energy performance and a model of low-carbon architecture, the Wonder Building is based on a 4450 m³ wooden structure that conserves natural resources and saves 2,500 tonnes of CO2 compared to an all-concrete construction. This exemplary building has reduced its carbon footprint by 60% over its entire life cycle, compared with a conventional building.
The Wonder Building meets the requirements of theBREEAM and Haute Qualité Environnementale (HQE)certifications, the Bâtiment Bas Carbone (BBCA), Effienergie+ and WIRE labels, and the Gold level of the“WELL” certification.
The building is connected to the city’s heating network, which produces over 50% of its energy from renewable sources.
It boasts 1,340 m² of terraces a tree-lined patio, and 20% open space, compared with none on the original site.
Finally, the project’s energy performance exceeds the requirements of current regulations. It also includes 500 m² of renewable energy production with photovoltaic panels on the roof.
