Tour Brunesceau ‘Le Cinq’, PARIS
Our proposal for Tour Bruneseau, “Le Cinq,” introduces a new landmark for the south-east of Paris—a 180-metre-high tower conceived as a true vertical city. Located in the extension of Avenue de France and directly facing the Paris périphérique, the building occupies a strategic position between Gare d’Austerlitz and Ivry-sur-Seine. It acts as a powerful urban marker, establishing a new compositional axis that dialogues with Paris’ historical monuments, from the Louvre to La Défense, and contributes a contemporary figure to the evolving skyline of the “Ville Lumière.”
Rather than a monolithic object, “Le Cinq” reinterprets the classical tower typology through fragmentation. The building is composed of five stacked urban islands, each six storeys high. These autonomous entities are organized around central open spaces—squares, gardens and patios—that recall the intimacy of urban courtyards. Each island develops its own identity through landscape design and artistic interventions, creating a sequence of distinctive micro-neighborhoods suspended in the sky. The traditional horizontal juxtaposition of districts is translated vertically, inventing a new typology that combines density with human scale.
The irregular geometry and alternating solids and voids multiply perspectives and break down the vertical thrust of the tower. From the north and south façades, the eye shifts continuously between the building and the distant cityscape, while the sky slips between the horizontal layers. “Le Cinq” is neither a screen nor an isolated object: it is conceived as a porous structure, a true urban connector between Paris and its periphery.
At ground level, a generous public passage activates the base with shops, conference facilities, restaurants and cultural programs. Above, a sequence of elevated terraces forms a public belvedere, offering panoramic views over Paris and towards Ivry-sur-Seine. Monumental staircases invite pedestrians upward, transforming infrastructure into a destination for strolling and leisure.
Sustainability is embedded from the outset. The project integrates geothermal energy and solar heat pumps, greywater reuse and passive cooling strategies in line with the City of Paris climate plan. The fragmented form encourages stair use and allows for openable façades and patios, enabling natural ventilation and reducing energy consumption. The metallic structural system minimizes embodied carbon while accelerating construction.
“Le Cinq” offers a new way of inhabiting height: a vertical landscape where work, leisure and public life coexist—monumental yet humane, dense yet open.
