By Claire Thibault

“In Monaco, the BELLECOUR Architectes studio has delivered an exemplary and innovative 43-meter project: the Carmelha Tower, renamed A Fighera upon completion.

The Principality of Monaco, known for its urban density, is welcoming its first-ever residential building made of CLT and timber frame construction. Committed to the energy transition, the Principality aimed to develop innovative and bio-based infrastructures. Located in the residential district of La Rousse, the project faced multiple design challenges.”

Architecture Bois Magazine No. 126 – February 2025

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By Bastien Lechevallier

“The Carmelha Residence in Monaco represents sustainable and innovative architecture in a complex environment. Delivered this summer, it is the work of the Paris-based firm Bellecour Architectes. The Carmelha Residence project aligns with the vision of the Monegasque government, through the Mission for Energy Transition (MTE), to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy […]”

Woodsurfer No. 138 – September / October 2024

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By Amélie Luquain

“A Wooden Tower Rises Without a Crane
In the heart of Monaco, a building reaches 43 meters in height solely through jacking operations.

No, the top levels of this Monegasque building are not an extension. What appears to be the summit of the Villa Carmelha residential tower is, in fact, a climbing lifting system that, using hydraulic jacks, enables the construction of the wooden structure up to eight stories and 43 meters high—without a crane. To complete this 25-apartment project, the Principality of Monaco faced a dual challenge: a dense urban site with little available space and a bio-based material that is sensitive to weather conditions and still rarely used in the region. The developer was thus compelled to innovate […]”**

Le Moniteur No. 6305 – June 21, 2024

“A risk can be defined as the possibility of a hazard occurring and affecting a vulnerable population. A hazard only becomes a risk when human, economic, and environmental stakes, which possess a certain fragility, are involved. Risk mitigation relies on principles of forecasting, prevention, and protection.” […]

Seismic Activity in France – Interview with Vincent Ballion, Project Manager of the Carmelha Operation – by Anne-Sophie Gouyen

Construction – Eco-responsible awareness also affects the building sector in Monaco. For its state-owned Carmelha operation, which will see the light of day between the boulevard d’Italie and the avenue Saint-Roman, the public works department is working on an innovative building project that consumes less energy and is more respectful of the environment.

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Silva / Art Build + Bellecour architects

“Designed jointly by Art & Build and the Studio Bellecour Architects, the mixed lot includes an integrated multi storey car park on which stands a 50 metre high, 18 storey, 115 unit Residential tower and a 7-storey Commercial building, a total of 69 Social Residential units in two plots with Retail units on the ground floor. Whilst independent from each other, each part of the program shares common ground with the city. Transparent, this high-rise project shows off its exoskeleton behind a curtain wall of immense frames of laminated timber”.

Towers made of wood

“Bordeaux Euratlantique wants to build 20,000 sqm (215,000 sqft) of wood-frame construction every year. The following were selected for the first two constructions with a wooden tower: the Hyperion tower by Jean-Paul Viguier for Eiffage and the Silva tower by Art & Build and Studio Bellecour for Kaufman & Broad. The companies Techniwood, IBS, Sacba, and Elioth were also involved. This 18-storey tower, will also be 50 metres high and will consist of more than 50% wood, with a giant timber primary structure…”

Bordeaux Euratlantique will choose two wooden towers instead of one …

France aims for the world record for the highest wooden residential towers

“The Mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppé, announced the construction, in his city, of the two highest wooden towers in the world. 50 metres tall and comprising 18 storeys, they will be built by Eiffage and Kaufman & Broad.”

Bordeaux launches Hypérion and Silva, two wooden towers 50 metres tall…

How Nexity, Eiffage et Kaufman & Broad are reshaping Bordeaux…

A hovering spaceship connected to its hub, a “bicephalous ship” docking at the Cité Descartes by the end of 2015. This is what the future house of the innovated enterprise will look like, certified high environmental quality (HQE).

“Do not ask Wilfrid Bellecour to draw right angles. This architect’s style is better read through cut corners, inclined and reversed surfaces, unexpected volumes (…)

Bordeaux, left bank, Floirac. Nearby the Garonne’s riverbank, a new urban development zone (ZAC). Studio Bellecour delivered 116 apartments in July 2013. A still life on abstraction (…)

For Bellecour Wilfrid, sustainable development has to be integrated into the overall design of the building. On Andromède UDZ, near the airport Blagnc, Galilée shows that the norms a priori suffered can be the driving force for architectural design.

Construction of 81 residential units including 46 time-buyers and 35 for sale in the future state of completion, for OPALY, Lénine UDZ

Unifying and plastic, office building “The Galilee” is one of the first programs made in the Andromede UDZ in Blagnac. The aesthetics of the project results directly from the interpretation of the urban rules, the airport context and requirements HQE data in the specification of the UDZ. The building is organized in two parallel separate buildings connected by a long veil of white concrete which, starting from the vertical, curves slowly to the horizontal in a large movement of helix. This veil provides continuity between the two buildings while allowing to discover the landscape back to its depth.

81 residential units signed by Studio Bellecour. Extensive operation led by Eiffage Development, the program of Lenin UDZ in Gentilly, presents approximately 550 free and social homes, including housings for students and researchers, a gymnasium and associated offices, available in five architectural competitions. Focus on project Eiffage Real Estate/Opaly, architect Studio Bellecour.

A UDZ is about to live up the Chaperon Vert city. The Lénine UDZ building permits (2.2 ha) should be delivered at the end of the year. (…)

Rund 11.000 Einwohner leben in Grand-Pigeon, einem Viertel im Nordosten der französischen Stadt Angers. Den gleichen Namen trägt ein städtisches Wohnbauprojekt, in dessen Rahmen u.a. 135 Sozialwohnungen entstanden sind. (…)

Model building in terms of sustainability, le Galilée marks the beginning of a new era for Grand Toulouse’s services architecture. (…)

North Masséna and the “open block” by the photographer Eric Sempé (…)

Egy Környezettudatos

Irodahas

Le Galilée, Blagnac, Franciaorszag

by Andrew Rosenberg.

The projects sets within a mission of movement and punctuation. With this framework, a typological approach seeks to combine the urban scale of street with its surrounding area. (…)

The future headquarters of the Gironde management center will be built alongside the bypass in Bordeaux-Lac on 3980 sq.m (…)

Le Galilée – Ansamblul de birouri Le Galilée face parte din planul de dezvoltare a zonei ZAC Andromède de Blagnac, din apropiere de Toulouse, França, cunoscuta pentru fabricarea avioanelor Airbus. (…)

Come back today to this new wave of recent architectural feature of social housing construction. Spread the word! The days of sad apartment blocks are long gone and the realization of housing 135 in Angers, signed by Studio Bellecour, is a beautiful demonstration.

Social housing, Le Gouz UDZ in Angers, by Studio Bellecour Architects. (…)

Delivered in 2010, the Galilee is one of the first programs realized on the Andromeda UDZ in Toulouse, the first eco-district of Grand Sud. Designed by the Parisian Studio Bellecour, the project is organized in two office buildings, different in form but similar in the composition of their facades. Sun shading covers, in fact, surround and provide the light comfort needed to the interior spaces. Remarkable element of the building, the curved white concrete wall, provides continuity between each building and echoes the aviation context of the site.

Operation : Gironde Regional Service Management Center construction, rue du Cardinal Richaud in Bordeaux-Lac. (…)

Studio Bellecour wins Gironde Management Center project. The construction of the future headquarters of the Gironde Management Center will be along the ring road in Bordeaux-Lac. Program requirements, the constraints of the context, the appearance of the site and the desire to lead a strong image, created a proposal of the Studio Bellecour to form a monolith carved with gaps revealing a precious and cozy inside.

135 social housing in Angers by Studio Bellecour. Located in Angers, the housing designed by Studio Bellecour are a part of town’s redevelopment program. (…)

Galilée is one of the debut projects realized in the UDZ (Urban Development Zone) Andromede, in Blagnac, near Toulouse in France. The particular urban detail of the UDZ in Blagnac provided a unique climate for the development of a quality architectural project. (…)

Angers Habitat recreates a piece of the city of Grand Pigeon. The residence Le Gouz, inaugurated in November the 19th, marks the final stage of the renovation of the UDZ Grand Pigeon, one of the five districts of Angers, enrolled in a vast urban renewal program, which begun in 2004. Part of the existing housing was demolished while the urban plan has allowed the opening up of this part of the town.

Near the tram terminus of the Andromède UDZ in Toulouse-Blagnac, a big surprise! Rotating like the Earth, the Galilée unfolds a long veil of white concrete that connects the two buildings of 12,000 squares meters of brand new offices. “The aesthetics of this helix, a real technical challenge, recalls the aeronautical context of the site, where the Airbus A380 aircraft is assembled,” said Wilfrid Bellecour, Parisian architect of the project led by Altarea Cogedim.

AD Architectural Digest

Like an airplane without wings (…) And now in Blagnac, where the aircraft is a king, rises an office building, 80 meters long and 12 meters high, with the obvious musicality and which shape evokes not an airplane without wings, but a helix without a plane. It is known to Wilfrid Bellecour, his architect, who spent several years at Christian de Portzamparc office where he worked on the Embassy of France in Berlin and on the Luxembourg Philharmonic, widely considered as the masterpiece of Portzamparc. In Blagnac, Bellecour hands over a set of two office buildings connected by a vast veil of white concrete which, starting from the vertical, curves slowly to the horizontal in a movement of helix, thus opening a wide breakthrough visual on the Airbus building in the distance.

The French town of Blagnac is probably not instantly to anyone than diehard Francophiles and plane-spotting enthusiast. Situated just outside Toulouse, its main claim to fame is being home to air craft manufacturer Airbus – the brains behind jet age behemoth the Airbus A380. (…)

Galilée – Blagnac, Fransa

Studio Bellecour sunar… (…)

A volute of concrete fleet on Blagnac

All the Galilee would appear as a standard operation if a long veil of twisted concrete did not connect these two office buildings. Through this sculptural structure, the architects of Studio Bellecour reflect the requirements of urban Andromeda UDZ with a touch of originality. The building Galilee is a pioneer. These offices are one of the first achievements of the Andromède UDZ in Blagnac.

Le Gouz in Angers: social housing designed by Studio Bellecour, by Danielle Birck

In the context of an extensive program of urban renewal of Grand Pigeon district in Angers, the achievement of 135 social housing on the site of le Gouz was given to the architectural firm of Wilfrid Bellecour.

The architect Wilfrid Bellecour conceived the Galilée, a group of two office buildings that bring together comfort and aesthetic. (…)

The project : The veil, primary visual feature of the overall, blends vertical and horizontal motions as it slowly curves in a helical movement. (…)

Dijon (21) – construction of 72 units of social housing, Environment quality approach (BBC-Effinergie®) in Urban Development Zone Hyacinthe-Vincent. (…)

The property developer Altarea Cogedim takes places in a veil woven by Studio Bellecour. (…)

Mésolia Habitat launched the first construction phase of an ambitious construction program on the Quais UDZ in Floirac. In the last quarter of 2010, Habitat Mésolia opened construction site Terrasses de Garonne by a first tranche of 116 apartments (out of 177), which were divided among social home ownership and rental housing. This last part was entrusted to the care shared by Mésolia and Aquitanis.

le galilée – studio bellecour

Volumesnes Sostenibles

Ubicado en el centro aeronautico de Toulouse (Francia), le Galilée es uno de los primeros proyectos realizados en la zona de ZAC Andromède, destinado a convertirse en el centro de negocios de Blagnac. (…)

Franska Studio Bellecour har ritat det hät vackra kontoret utrustat med diverse energisparande egenskaper. (…)

Le voile de Galilée – À côté du terminus tramway, Galilée s’élève au coeur de la ZAC Andromède. Ce double bâtiment de 11 000 m2 de bureaux recouvert d’une peau d’alu laqué bronze-doré s’ouvre comme une porte de béton blanc sur fond d’usine A380 (…).

Le Galilée was designed by Studio Bellecour and mainly functions as an office building. It is located in ZAC Andromède de Blagnac, near Toulouse – France where Airbuses are made. (…)

Le Galilée might be tomorrow’s office building example. The plan is centered on two distinct buildings wich are connected by a long white concrete veil (…)

Le Galilée was designed by Studio Bellecour and mainly functions as an office building. It is located in ZAC Andromède de Blagnac, near Toulouse – France where Airbuses are made. (…)

The 55 residential units conceived by the architects Wilfrid Bellecour and François Barberot are composed of three building plots put on a concrete base. (…)

In response to changing labour market, demographic and lifestyle changes in general, the need to rethink urban space has become a priority of the regional communities. On the one hand, because the cities and a fortiori saturated city centres can no longer absorb new residents and on the other, because the constraints of the urban centre such as congestion and pollution affecting local residents while discouraging newcomers. Thus we have developed the development zones, so-called ZAC, in which the public authority carries out or has performed development of land and equipment. It is this type of consultation and issues related to sustainable development that created the BIA Andromeda and an office building Galileo realized by Studio Bellecour, the emblem of the architecture of high environmental quality.

Although Issy-les-Moulineaux is already at the top of high-tech development, it still intends to keep one step ahead. Spread over 12 acres overlooking the capital, the operation of Fort Issy is an ambitious goal: to transform a military fort of the nineteenth century in a neighborhood of 1,500 housings combining digital services and sustainable development! Designed by the firm Architecture Studio, the project, which brings together four renowned promoters (BNP Paribas Real Estate, Bouygues Immobilier, Kaufman & Broad, Vinci), can be perceived in more than one way.

After twelve years of negotiations, the Ministry of Defense gave in to the Semads, SEM of the urban community Arc de Seine, the fort of Issy-les-Moulineaux for $ 60 million. Building permits are obtained and this deadline gave the beginning of the project for 1557 units (102,250 m2 gross floor area), including 329 social rented, all designed from the perspective of sustainable development, multimedia and building management (…)

Studio Bellecour operation : existing building redevelopment and creation of residential units and 28 rental social housings. (…)

The Anru operation almost over. 961 residential units to be demolished in order to build 201 housings in the Grand Pigeon by Studio Bellecour. (…)

Floirac right-bank – The Garonne terraces

The new image for Daguenet. Throughout the work in progress there are installed informative signs. Thus, the tower Chaptal, soon “residence Chaptal,” almost took his new look. The intersection of streets Branly, Chaptal and Coëffard will soon be completely redone. Already the parking, which currently also hosts the market, is just waiting for flowers and shrubs in the jardinières. The structural work of all the Gouz hundred and thirty-five units of Angers Habitat is nearing completion and one is already aware of the aesthetics of buildings.

The 55 residential units project conceived by Studio Bellecour, is at the heart of an important UDZ, with Christian de Portzamparc as the chief architect. They are composed of three building plots put on a concrete base. (…)

Despite the hard economic and social context in 2010, Mésolia Habitat will do their best to fulfill their objectives and take part in the housing local policy. (…)

Two office buildings connected by a veil of white concrete. All the offices Galilee are directed by Cogedim, whose work began on the ZAC Andromeda, northwest of Toulouse area, which holds major tertiary operations in the site. The project is characterized by bold architecture distinguished by a Pyramide d’argent in the competition of the Pyramides d’or held by PFC (Federation of developers and builders).

The old fort converted into houses – Building permits for 100,000-m2 gross floor area, to be built for the digital Fort Issy-les-Moulineaux, were filled in late June. Bouygues Real Estate is the leading real estate developer of this important transaction on a former military site, a fort of the nineteenth century. “Responsible for the ground plan and force proposals, we coordinate the project with other developers and their architects, with engineering an technical office, knowing that Architecture Studio and Atelier 2A are the chief architects of the project”, said William Capitant, program director at Bouygues Estate.

In the Lironde gardens in Montpellier (Hérault), architects have given up the town-planning jargon for a more poetic and almost marine vocabulary. (…)

Angers (49) – Operation of 135 social housing units in UDZ “Grand Pigeon”