The Jardins de la Lironde tower will comprise eleven irregularly shaped levels, arranged in a seemingly random order to create balconies on different sides of the building.

A total of 36 apartments will be contained within the upper storeys of the building, while a restaurant will occupy the ground floor.

Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde, is the first of 12 new buildings planned for the Port Marianne district. The brief for every structure is to create a "modern folly" that references the eighteenth-century chateaux built by wealthy merchants around Montpellier.

Farshid Moussavi Architecture will continue to work on the next stages of the project and construction is set to begin in 2014.

Above: typologies diagram

Iranian-born architect Farshid Moussavi launched her studio in 2011, after 16 years as co-director of Foreign Office Architects. Since then she has also won a competition to design housing outside Paris and completed the mirror-clad Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.

Other recent projects in Montpellier include a government building designed by Zaha Hadid and a school for hotel management by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas. See more architecture in Montpellier.

Above: unit layout one

Above: unit layout two

Above: unit layout three

Above: unit layout four

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Farshid Moussavi Architecture appeared first on Dezeen.

The Lycée Georges Frêche occupies two curvy cast-concrete buildings connected by footbridges over a courtyard.

Above image is by Studio Fuksas

The facade is pulled up on one side to create a tunnel through which students and staff enter.

Above image is by Studio Fuksas

As well as classrooms, offices and accommodation for students and staff, the complex includes a hotel and three restaurants that are open to the public, accessed from the opposite side of the campus.

The walls of the school and student accommodation are painted in a different colour on each floor.

Other projects by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas we've featured on Dezeen include a concrete church in Italy and a glowing orange music hall in France.

See all our stories about Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas »
See all our stories about Montpellier »

Photography is by Moreno Maggi unless otherwise stated.

Here's some more information from the architects:

Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas inaugurated a new public building in France: the Georges-Freche School of Hotel Management in Montpellier. Besides the architectural project that won the competition launched by the Région Languedoc-Roussillon in 2007, Fuksas architects have realized the interior of the spaces open to public: a hotel and three restaurants. Built on 3.95 acres in the ZAC Port Marianne area to the East of Montpellier, the hotel-school Lycée Georges Frêche transforms the landscape and provides it with a distinct urban identity.

Above image is by Studio Fuksas

Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas’ project, which is developed horizontally, comes across as a single entity. It has a formal diversity, compact volumes and sculptural shapes. The volumetric complexity, which can be seen even inside the building, gives every room its own spatial individuality.

The School includes:

- Two main buildings connected by footbridges that cross a tree planted central courtyard
- Accommodation for students (75 beds spread over three floors)
- Housing for management (10 apartments over 5 floors)
- Gym
- Athletic Track and sports ground situated outside

The entrance for the students and the professors is through an arch while the entrance for the clients is on an opposite side. The two buildings that form the edifice make up the sculptural mass around which the gym, the students’ residence and the management’s housing gravitate. The first building, situated on the Titien Road, has three floors and includes: the multi-purpose room, the exhibition gallery, the administrative offices, the classrooms and the canteen that has exits leading towards the recreational areas outside.

The second building is distinguished by its Y form and is on two floors. Here, there are the spaces for the vocational teaching as well the areas dedicated to the hotel and the gastronomic restaurant: a hotel that is open to the public (12 rooms, 6 of which are two/three star, 4 four star and 2 suites); three restaurants, one of which is a gastronomic restaurant (50 places), a brasserie and a teaching restaurant (200 places in total), a bread-making workshop and a pastry making classroom. The gastronomic restaurant, the brasserie and the 4 star hotel showcase the School’s excellence and are the most important areas of the project.

Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas have designed the interior, the areas accessible to the public and the spaces devoted to the gastronomic sector and to the hotel. In the entrance hall leading to the gastronomic restaurant and to the hotel, there is a reception desk: a white lacquered sculptural object, mirroring the fluid forms and the solid character of the structure. The desk is covered with materials that are used for making boat hulls. Different types of originally designed tables and chairs define the spaces dedicated to the interaction between the public and the students. There is also the limited edition furniture specially made for the hotel.

The School walls and those of the students’ residence are painted in a different colour on each floor, with the shades ranging from yellow to green to magenta and orange. The colours serve as signage to distinguish the different spaces and activities. The project can be called “experimental” as much for its triangular shaped aluminium façade as for the use of reinforced concrete. Both materials have been adapted in order to be able to adopt specific shapes - curved and fluid – as required by the structure.

The facades of the building have been constructed using 17,000 cases of anodized aluminum in triangular shapes. Each aluminum case is unique and bears its own specific bar code in order that it can be identified for its specific situation on the façade. The interaction between the facades reinforces the dynamic tension between the solid materials and the cavities, the light and the shadows, that are an inherent part of the project. The geometric design of the aluminum “skin” is developed further to apply to the 5,000 triangular glass frames that are mounted on metal nets. Each of these is different.

The structure of the building is made from reinforced concrete. To reproduce the curves of the volumes, the project has used "shotcrete" technology. Photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roof of the first building (multi-purpose room, exhibition gallery, administrative offices, classrooms, canteen) as well as on the roof of the apartments for the management.

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Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas appeared first on Dezeen.

Architect Jean Nouvel has completed a design showroom in Montpellier where furniture and homewares are caged behind chain link fencing.

A four-storey atrium divides the split-level building into two halves, with staircases that criss-cross from side to side.

A bookshop occupies the ground floor, alongside a restaurant furnished with stacking metal chairs that Nouvel designed especially.

The facade of the building is embellished with a series of words, which name activities that might take place in the home.

As the fifth RBC Design Centre to open in France, the Montpellier store was initiated by brand founder Franck Argentin and is due to be inaugurated later this month.

Read more about the chair designed by Nouvel for the showroom in our earlier story.

See all our stories about Jean Nouvel »

Here's some information from Ateliers Jean Nouvel:

RBC Design Centre - Montpellier

Designed by Jean Nouvel and initiated by Franck Argentin, founder of RBC, RBC Design Centre is the ultimate place dedicated to design.

This amazing building of 9 levels, is a 2 000 m2 art of living destination with no equivalence in Europe in its architecture and philosophy.

RBC Design Centre celebrates a global design culture that goes from furniture pieces, objects, books to exhibitions and food.

Synthesis of RBC’s know-how, leading player in the french design retail, RBC Design Centre presents the best international brands of furniture, lighting, kitchen and bathroom design (Alias, Artemide, Arper, B*B ITALIA, Belux, Cappellini, Cassina, Emu, Fantoni, Flos, Fontana Arte, Foscarini, Knoll, Antonio Luppi, Magis, MDF, Muuto, Poliform, Poltrona Frau, Varenna, Vitra…), taken care of by a great architecture and design passionate professionals' team who is entirely dedicated to the best indoor and outdoor solutions for better living. To support even better people’s needs, a lightnig designer position has been created so that lighting becomes a true wellness source in function as well as in design.

RBC Design Centre also features a 120 m2 Kartell shop and a 150 m2 shop in shop dedicated to smaller objects and supporting international and french young design editors such as Edition sous Etiquette, Atelier d’Exercices, Chilewich, Eno…

Positioned as a cultural destination, RBC Design Centre will also held a number of design exhibitions, together with book signatures in its amazing library of 4000 books on architecture, design and food.

The 70 seat restaurant – MIA by Pascal Sanchez, with a large 120 seat terrace has just opened. Chef Pascal Sanchez has worked more than 15 years with famous Pierre Gagnaire, first at its parisian place and further on at Sketch (London) and Twist (Mandarin Oriental-Las Vegas). From those years he takes with him the love of a very modern mix of good local food, art and design. Outdoor tables and chairs have been specially designed by Jean Nouvel and edited by EMU and tableware is 100% Alessi.

The building designed by Jean Nouvel can be first seen as a simple box, in a very neutral grey, enhanced by key words in white: CREATE – DREAM– READ – COOK – LIGHT – LIVE

Once you enter, the outside opacity gives place to transparency. The deep unique grey tone of the building is a perfect scene for the strong museum like set ups of the furniture pieces.

Distributed on eight levels on both sides of a central major hole, protected by a stainless stitch, they are colors and life of the place, inviting to roam from a visual request to the other one.

This spectacular "furniture wardrobe", cut by stairs that link levels, looks inspired by mathematician Escher’s drawings.

The building is situated in Port Marianne, a brand new contemporary area in Montpellier where Jean Nouvel has also designed the town hall.

The lighting design is by  Yann Kersalé.

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by Jean Nouvel appeared first on Dezeen.

Reframe was constructed in the Rotterdam workshop of Paul Scales and rebuilt in Montpellier with the help of Atelier Kit for the Festival of Living Architecture in June.

The theme of the festival this year was 'surprise', so the architects came up with a simple cube design that gradually reveals multiple framed viewpoints.

The installation was built from 45 opal-coloured polycarbonate sheets, a type of plastic often used for outdoor roofing and glazing, and 16 steel plumbing pipes.

The project was made possible by a grant from Stimuleringsfonds voor Architectuur.

See all our stories about installations »

Above photograph is by Pierre Berthelomeau 

Photographs are by Paul Kozlowski, except where otherwise stated.

Here's some more information about the installation:

Reframe was created by Paul Scales and Atelier Kit for the 7th ‘Festival of Living Architecture’ in Montpellier, France. The festival is comprised of an architectural walking tour through the historic city centre where heritage sites are opened up to modern architecture. This year's theme was ‘surprise’.

Reframe explores the theme of surprise through the creation of an object that reframes the relation of the visitor to the space, the historic architecture and the other visitors.

What first appears to be a simple modern cube is gradually discovered to be a more complex structure, through which architectural details, elements and facades are continuously revealed, reframed and reflected.

Visitors experience a shift from the position of observer to observed, from control to controlled and willingly or not, become engaged in a game of surprise and being surprised.

Not only a beautiful and interesting way to contrast modern and historic architecture, it also turned out to be very popular with the local kids who discovered that it was also a great object to play in.

Paul Scales constructed Reframe in their Rotterdam Werkshop and together with Atelier Kit rebuilt it in Montpellier for the festival in June 2012. It is now being stored at the Paul Scales Studio and is available for rent or sale.

The project was constructed from 45 sheets of opal-coloured 16 mm multi-wall polycarbonate and 16 steel plumbing pipes.

Above photograph is by Pierre Berthelomeau

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and Atelier Kit appeared first on Dezeen.

The Pierres Vives Building will accommodate the multimedia library, public archive and sports department of the Herault regional government and is due to be inaugurated on 13 September.

A recessed section of green-tinted glass runs along the length of the facade, where a first-floor foyer connects the library and offices with shared facilities that include meeting rooms, an auditorium and an exhibition space.

These shared facilities are contained inside a curved concrete block, which bursts through the glazing to shelter the main entrance on the ground floor below.

Zaha Hadid has also been in the news recently over claims she was to blame for tickets sold at the Olympic Aquatics Centre for seats with restricted views.

See all our stories about Zaha Hadid »

Photography is by Hélène Binet.

Here's some more information from Zaha Hadid Architects:

The Pierres Vives building of the department de l’Herault is characterised by the unification of three institutions - the archive, the library and the sports department - within a single envelope. These various parts of this “cite administrative” combine into a strong figure visible far into the landscape. As one moves closer, the division into three parts becomes apparent. The building has been developed on the basis of a rigorous pursuit of functional and economic logic. However, the resultant figure is reminiscent of a large tree- trunk, laid horizontal. The archive is located at the solid base of the trunk, followed by the slightly more porous library with the sports department and its well-lit offices on top where the trunk bifurcates and becomes much lighter. The branches projecting off the main trunk are articulating the points of access and the entrances into the various institutions. On the western side all the public entrances are located, with the main entrance under an enormous cantilevering canopy; while on the eastern side all the service entrances, i.e. staff entrances and loading bays are located. In this way the tree-trunk analogy is exploited to organise and articulate the complexity of the overall “cite administrative”.

Spatial Organisation

The main vehicular access road- both for public visitors as well as for staff and service vehicles, is coming off Rue Marius Petipa, and provides access to either side of the building. The public access leads to the generous visitor car park right in front of the main entrance lobby. The service access is stretched along the opposite side.

This longitudinal division of serviced and servicing spaces is maintained within the ground floor along the full length of the building. The front side contains all the public functions of each institution, linked by a linear lobby and an exhibition space in the centre. Above this connective ground level the three institutions remain strictly separated. Each has its own set of cores for internal vertical circulation. The lay-outs of each part follow their specific functional logic.

Upon arrival at the main entrance, one is directed from the lobby either to the educational spaces of the archives on ground level; or via lifts and escalators to the main public artery on level 1. This artery is articulated all along the facades as a recessed glass strip and here reading rooms of both archives and library are immediately accessible. Central in this artery and therefore located at the heart of the building, are the main public facilities shared between the three institutions: auditorium and meeting rooms. These shared public functions also form the central volume that projects out from the trunk, providing a grand cantilevering canopy for arriving visitors.

Project: Pierres Vives
Location: Montpellier, France
Date: 2002 / 2012
Client: Departement de l’Herault
Size: 35,000 m2

Architectural Design: Zaha Hadid
Project Architect: Stephane Hof

Local Architect:
Design Phase: Blue Tango
Execution Phase: Chabanne et Partenaires

Structure: Ove Arup & Partners
Services: Ove Arup & Partners (Concept Design) & GEC Ingenierie

Acoustics: Rouch Acoustique Nicolas Albaric
Cost: Gec LR, Ivica Knezovic

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by Zaha Hadid appeared first on Dezeen.