Green Spiral of Toulouse
Compagnie de Phalsbourg (Paris) unveiled two competition winning projects by Studio Libeskind (New York) during the international property market MIPIM in Cannes, France recently. The sculpted Occitanie Tower will rise 150m above the Canal du Midi in the heart of the business sector of Toulouse. Set to be the first skyscraper in the city, the tower’s curvaceous form is interrupted by a spiral of greenery that rises from street level up to the 40th floor. The tower includes 11,000 sq m of office space, a Hilton hotel, up to 120 apartments, a restaurant with panoramic views, commercial space for shops, and offices on the ground floor for the railway company SNCF.
Integrated into the overall form of the building, the façade and public platform is a continuous vertical landscape. This vertical green ribbon referenced the lush waterway of Canal du Midi that winds through the city. Trees will line the platform of the building and a ribbon of gardens will curl around the glass facade to its full height. The vertical gardens will be designed by the landscape architect Nicolas Gilsoul.
The tower will be built on the site of the former postal sorting center at Gare Matabiau. Situated east of the city center, and away from the Garonne River, the building will have views towards the Pyrenees, that are less than 100 km away. The project is projected to become the gateway to the city’s growing business sector.
The construction start date is slated for 2018 with the project completing in 2022.
Studio Libeskind