2nd place - 09 Skyscraper Competition

The living bridge
Michel Etienne Turgot, Borough President of the City of Paris in 1734, commissioned to the drafter Louis Bretez the most beautiful and accurate representation of Paris in the "Ancien Régime".
Based on this representation, it is evident that most bridges in the City at that time are living quarters and perform as actual buildings, fully integrated to the bridge itself.

The same typology is found in the historic "Ponte Vecchio" in Florence that survives unaltered to this date, with its direct relationship between "bridge architecture" and the river.

The center of Paris is deeply characterized by the extraordinary presence of the Seine River, touching the historic monuments such as the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the Grande Palais. These are all landmarks that provide orientation in the city, as authentic milestones.

The historic city can still develop and grow its density vertically, respecting and highlighting the existing context.

The grand open spaces of Paris, and particularly the Place de la Concorde, have the potential of integrating the new 400-meter high building, made of two narrow (12 meter) and long (216 meter) volumes, separated by 30 meter space. The building is integrated by the Seine, becoming a new landmark and offering to the historic center the development of the most varied programmatic elements, from landscape to culture, museum and performance spaces.

The new bridge for the city is a living one.