Credit: LC_018725 : © Infime / Icade (Designers : Herzog & de Meuron – Michel Desvigne)

The district of La Confluence, Lyon, France continues its transformation east of the Cours Charlemagne. The developer, Icade, invested in the land historically occupied by the grocer's market, and a team of six designers redesigned it in order to give life to Ynfluences Square: a multifunctional real estate program.

Ynfluences Square faces the hotel of the region, designed by Christian de Portzamparc, and the Francois Mitterrand Esplanade. It is immediately next to the T1 tram line, the Confluence Commercial Center, and the dock on the Saone. To the North, the old A3 island, now Ynfluences Square, is the existing residential neighborhood of Sainte-Blandine, while to the east, it joins Rue Smith, which is expanding. This island of life, of 28,100 square meters, is organized around eight new buildings, two garden paths and intends to distinguish itself by its mixed uses and functional diversity. It offers office space, housing, business opportunities, and a mix of uses that favor the creation of a vibrant and livable 24-hour city. 

The design of this new urban piece was entrusted to six local and international designers: Herzog & de Meuron, Tatiana Bilbao S.C, Manuel Herz Architekten, Christian Kerez, Michel Desvigne Paysagiste and AFAA. 

In a contemporary style of Herzog & de Meuron, the old market train station is undergoing a transformation by restoring a unified color pallet to the heart of the neighborhood. The proposal of the Swiss architects defines a new city form, which is varied and more open; so that the green spaces, public passageways, and other garden paths affirm themselves as one of the principal identifying elements of the project.

Credit: LC_012210 : © Herzog & de Meuron

There is no height standard for this second phase, and certain buildings rise up in order to offer their future inhabitants never before seen views of their city and the environment. Others, smaller ones, propose more intimacy while playing with the continuity of existing historical architecture. Additionally, a part of the old market halls is being conserved, as a wink to the industrial identity of the old neighborhood.

The first two residences BelvY and HarmonY are already in the process of commercialization, starting at 4,700 euros per square meter. Beyond the beautiful promises for sustainable construction methods, Ynfluences Square innovates by proposing a large array of services, which are more or less new: a reception hall, a sports facility, electric vehicles and car sharing, guest rooms for visiting family members and friends, shared gardens, a bricolage room, digital concierge, and home automation have been proposed to users in order to respond to their needs.

What makes for sensitive design when importing something new into an existing context? Share your stories and thoughts in the comments area below.

Original article, originally published in French, here.

Credits: Data and images linked to sources.