A true laboratory for the town planning of tomorrow and urban reconquest. Now known as the Groues eco-district, this 65-hectare plot is set to become the 11th district of Nanterre developed by Paris-La Défense in collaboration with the city. The sector presents itself in particular as one of the most important mixed development operations in Île-de-France, with the creation, among other things, of 4,500 new housing units by 2030. This very industrial sector, for a long time neglected because it is landlocked and made up of numerous wastelands, is in the process of radically changing its image.
In the immediate vicinity of the Grande Arche, the sector is obviously connected to La Défense but is also located between the RER A (Nanterre Université) and the new station of the RER E (Nanterre-La Folie) while awaiting line 15 of the Grand Paris express by 2030. And like most current projects, it must display a wide mix of uses and high environmental performance. In this respect, the first real estate complex to emerge from the ground in this district is particularly exemplary.
Only 2 apartments remaining
Supported by the developers Telamon and Bricqueville, this first program is made up of three buildings created by three different teams of architects but from which a beautiful unity emerges: the tallest being made up exclusively of housing (R+16), the second (R +8) hosting a student campus of the IGS group and the last (R+8) mixing offices and housing. Everything is structured around a vast shared green space, open to the public during the day and reserved for residents in the evening and is based on 6000 m² of urban logistics, located under the buildings, in the form of storage rooms for the teaches One more room.
The most visible element of this complex, the Hélios residence will offer 94 apartments (from studios to 5-room apartments) on its 16 floors, stopping below 50 meters and its IGH classification (high-rise building), resulting in numerous regulatory constraints. Almost all of the accommodation will have terraces, often generous with almost 18 m² on average and even up to 30 m² for the largest. Currently being installed, these balconies, all of different formats, become larger as one rises in the tower. A small connection with the Arbre Blanc, a famous building in Montpellier? This is not surprising, Nicolas Laisné who designed this tower worked on the Montpellier project alongside Sou Foujimoto and Manal Rachdi. Priced at around €6,300/m², these apartments have all found buyers with the exception of two 4-room apartments. Delivery planned for the first half of 2025.
“The three teams of architects of the different buildings interacted very early on to create buildings each having their own personality with plays of colors and textures while retaining a family bond, underlines Nicolas Laisné. NOTWe have also worked a lot on green spaces, with 50% unbuilt spaces and among them 60% offering open ground. And the fact that the heights of buildings are very different plays a very important role in guaranteeing everyone the best possible views and sunshine.” Please note: the set will be delivered with more than 200 trees and shrubs distributed in the common garden but also in the deep planters of the apartments.
2500 students
The school building acquired by the IGS group of management schools must accommodate nearly 2,500 work-study students from the start of 2025 on its 10,500 m² of premises. Designed by the architectural agencies A26 and MBE Atelier, the places which overlook the railway line will notably have two amphitheaters, a cafeteria open to the ground floor and accessible terraces. As for the last building, signed AQMA, it will house 2,700 m² of offices (convertible into an establishment open to the public) on the first three levels and 43 social and intermediate housing units in the five upper levels. “This operation may seem very dense, recalls Gérault de Sèze, president of Bricqueville, but it must be noted that it was previously a very abandoned mineral complex and thanks to the vegetation that we are bringing there, we are going to make it an island of freshness, which will be particularly appreciable on this south/southwest orientation. »
If the railway is king in the sector since a large railway line runs along the Groues, public green spaces and other soft mobility are not forgotten. It is here that Paris La Défense is developing the Bels Ébats gardens, an 800 m long promenade whose width will vary between 7 and 12 meters. Below (visible from the trains but inaccessible to the public), a planted swale (a sort of shallow and wide vegetated ditch) provides an additional green note while collecting and filtering runoff water. The spaces will be generous with around sixty trees planted, routes for bicycles and pedestrians and sets of alcoves and stands for sitting and taking pleasant breaks. The only problem: the whole thing will be built in nine sections and we will therefore have to wait a few more years for this entire walk designed by the TER agency to be accessible over 1.5 km.