Becoming an architectural highlight for the city of Montpellier, L’Arbre Blanc is a 17-storey common living space standing at 56 metres tall.
It is extended by 193 metal balconies, each of which features Accoya wood decking, which when you consider that each terrace ranges from 10-30m2 is a lot of modified wood.
The first two levels are home to a restaurant, art gallery and offices, while the remaining 15 floors are devoted to housing, with 110 apartments.
There is also a show-stopping panoramic bar on the roof, with views across Montpellier, reserved for the building’s residents.
L’Arbre Blanc, was designed for the city of Montpellier’s contest for “Folies architecturales” to add interest and to enhance neighbourhoods around the Mediterranean city.
This architectural challenge was imagined by architects Sou Fujimoto, Nicolas Laisné and Manal Rachdi, in collaboration with private developers Opalia, Evolvis, Crédit Agricole and Gavinenq.
Accoya was chosen for the creation of the building’s rooftop and terraces due to its durability and dimensional stability. The product’s low thermal gain was seen as perfect for decks in the Mediterranean climate, remaining cool underfoot.
Invisible clip ‘Hardwoodclip’ system by Novlek was used to secure the Accoya decking to the terraces, providing a seamless, attractive array of terraces, while respecting building regulations.
The aim of architect Manal Rachdi was to combine his two passions: nature with contemporary architecture. All Rachdi’s projects are eco-designed and incorporate large areas of nature: interior forests, “green” walls, and terraces such as the Accoya terraces of the L’Arbre Blanc.
Everything is carefully thought through to be sustainable without harming the environment; hence the use of Accoya wood, with its FSC certification and Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Gold certification.
Deliberately oriented to look outwards rather than in, L’Arbre Blanc is a building of perfect balance. The living rooms and bedrooms are directly connected to the outside through the terraces, extending them by seven to eight metres. They are decorated with brise-soleils and planters, and staggered to give more privacy to the residents.
