Once the headquarters of France’s National Forestry Office (ONF), this iconic example of 1970s naturalist architecture has been revitalized, blending poetry and technique in a design that engages with what was already there.
Through this restructuring, Racine takes on a new role in its neighborhood, becoming a new urban beacon.
Its reinvention is rooted in fertile ground and now rises majestically toward the sky.
Maud Caubet’s work focused on several key principles:
✔️ Building with the existing: reinvesting underground spaces by turning parking levels into bright, high-quality spaces
✔️ Creating a public urban connection between two neighborhoods
Racine acts as a bridge between Boulevard de Saint-Mandé and Rue de Picpus, returning a new vegetated public space to the city
✔️ Prefiguring reversible uses
Offices, housing, hotel… Racine can now adapt over time to the neighborhood’s evolving needs without requiring major construction
✔️ Reaching for the sky with a bioclimatic crown
A new rooftop crown completes the green roof on the ground extension and integrates an educational urban farm — a transparent, light-filled space offering unique views of Paris
✔️ Reuse and craftsmanship
4 tons of materials were recovered and reused off-site by woodworking associations. The project called on skilled craftspeople for specialized restoration work
✔️ Vegetation as a primary material
Present on every floor, functional greenery enhances occupant well-being and strengthens the site’s biodiversity and cooling role within the neighborhood
📖 Read the article by Laurence Albert in Les Echos
📸 Photo credits: Laurent Kronental
