A 55-metre-tall residential tower, designed by architects Hamonic+Masson & Associes for client SOGEPROM, has just been completed in Le Havre, France. Named Alta Tower, its twisting geometry and concrete frame make a bold and expressive statement at the heart of French architect Auguste Perret’s celebrated post World War II redevelopment of the city, close to Oscar Niemeyer’s curvaceous Le Volcan leisure centre.
Jean-Christophe Masson, Co-Founder and Director of Hamonic+Masson & Associes said: “Alta Tower is part of a city where heritage and modernity blend and feed off each other. It is rooted in the world architectural history of the 20th century and invents a new typology. Hamonic+Masson & Associes had to write a new score in keeping with the two sacred monsters. Alta Tower therefore combines the essential elements characteristic of each: the form and sensuality of Niemeyer, the grid and order of Perret, with concrete being the material common to all three projects.”
The Alta Tower building has 64 apartments and a creche. It offers residents panoramic views of the city and the docks from its generous running balconies. The column-free interiors can be configured on demand, and large pivoting balconies allow for customization of the living space. This innovative approach to vertical housing provides freedom and flexibility to its residents.
Edouard Philippe, the Mayor of Le Havre and a former Prime Minister of France said: “Le Havre is delighted with Alta Tower. It is a fine architectural feat, a beautiful object that makes people talk, that sometimes raises questions, and that catches the eye, and at the same time blends in well with the Le Havre landscape.”
Eric Groven, President of Sogeprom said: "What an audacious masterpiece! Sogeprom has completed an exceptional residential project designed by Hamonic+Masson & Associes, a landmark in terms of design and construction, elegant, efficient and ... complex to build. The building's resolutely avant-garde architecture blends masterfully into the architecture of Le Havre. "Building the city on top of the city", by replacing urban expansion with vertical density, makes a major contribution to the des artificialization of land, and this programme is a concrete and living testimony to the promotion of environmental and social values.”
Image provided by ING Media.
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