The housing building "I-Park" facing the new town hall of Montpellier, is a building of eight levels in variable layers designed by NBJ Architectes,  developed through a process of dialogue with the city of Montpellier, the equipment company of the Montpelliéraine region, Jean Nouvel, chief architect of the ZAC, and the promoter Pragma. 

Thought like a stratified and faceted monolith, the project constitutes an urban built front in its dividing line with the street. Adjoining the project site, a public park in the continuity of Lez will offer unobstructed views of the river and its banks to housing. A landscape band allows a distance between public and private spaces.

The base of the project is treated with stamped concrete while the body of the project consists of a unified facade. A double skin allows adaptability to each orientation, in connection with the direct/projected environment. A specific composition was thought for the urban facade. It is a sequence of three buildings interacting with each other and thus forming an animated entity. The facades facing the park and the Lez have the challenge of offering the vision of a park turning on the frame, integrating and absorbing perfectly the construction in its environment. A game between vegetated facades and reflecting facades projecting the plant in the urban fabric is thus set up.

This project draws its specificity from a strong desire for research and experimentation on living conditions in a Mediterranean climate. The vegetated facades are the subject of upstream research allowing us to work directly with specialists as well as the realization of prototypes.

Data sheet
Project name: I Park
Location: ZAC Consul de Mer – Montpellier (34) - France 
Architects: Elodie NOURRIGAT/Jacques BRION – NBJ Architectes 
Owner: Sogeprom Pragma - Occitanie
Project area: 4 000 m2 
Project ending: 2019

Team: Calder, Durand, Apave and Tracer

About NBJ Architectes

Created in 2000 by Elodie Nourrigat and Jacques Brion, N+B architects became NBJ Architectes in 2013. Both are graduated from ENSAM and obtained in 2002 a Master of Philosophy degree. Elodie Nourrigat has obtained in 2011 a Ph.D. in Architecture. They are also professors at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Montpellier (ENSAM). The current structure of the agency brings a structured team of professionals with expertise in architecture, urban planning, sustainable environmental issues, and engaging in programs to explore new ways of project development. Their projects join different scales, whether architectural or urban. Their work has been recognized through various awards. In September 2008, they were invited to the 11th Architectural Biennale in Venice in the French Pavilion. The same year, they were awarded by the prize “Europe 40 under 40”, price distinguishing the top 40 agencies under 40 years in Europe. The project of the Activity Park of Camalcé in Gignac was distinguished by the " International Award 2009 " price, attributed by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum and the “Coup de Coeur Arcade” prize for the Lez-In-Art housing project in Montpellier. In 2019, the Technical Center of Blagnac obtained the “International Architecture Award” awarded by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum.

They carry their education abroad, whether is at Laval University in Quebec City (Canada), RMIT in Melbourne (Australia), Tohku University in Sendai (Japan), College of Design at the University of Kentucky (USA). Invested in the dissemination of architecture culture, they create and organize since 2006, the Festival Architecture Vives, which invites young architects to intervene in the courtyards of mansions in Montpellier city.