The interplay of reflected light
The Duo Towers reflect the surrounding Parisian cityscape in their completely glazed facades. Golden, green and blue windows create an aesthetic of colored scales scattering the light from the buildings through the interplay of transparency, light, color, and contrast. The people from Saint‑Gobain brought this architectural vision to life by supplying materials that combine innovation with state-of-the-art technical qualities. Benoît Bazin, CEO of Saint-Gobain, helps us understand this multi-faceted project.
How was Saint-Gobain involved in the design of the towers?
On a major project like the Duo Towers, the subject is studied at a very early stage. A great many discussions took place, notably between the project management team and our own specialists. The design of the facades, between the technical performances required on the one hand and the aesthetic qualities desired by the architect on the other, was an important challenge in the project.
How does glazing contribute to the towers’ aesthetic vision?
We proposed several types of glazing for a total of approximately 130,000 square meters of glass delivered. For the main facade, our high reflection COOL-LITE® ST Bright Silver solution made it possible to produce the aesthetic signature of the architectural project: the ‘scales effect.’ In addition to the aesthetic qualities, we also ensure the buildings’ sustainability. The COOL-LITE® solar control glass solutions minimize the building’s energy consumption while guaranteeing user comfort. They offer the right balance between consuming energy for the purpose of heating, cooling and lighting to the effect that the operational carbon impact of these functions is reduced.
Do you have a particularly striking memory to share with us?
A key step in this project was the use of GlassPro Live, our physico-realistic image rendering service making it possible to obtain a reliable aesthetic visualization of the project in its future environment. This was a crucial step that confirmed the project manager’s technical and aesthetic choice of glazing for the facades within a relatively short timeframe.
What about this project makes you most proud?
I’m proud that we managed to put the know-how of our teams and our high-performance, sustainable solutions to work on an architectural challenge of this stature! I would also like to emphasize the human aspect: the close collaboration between Ateliers Jean Nouvel and our people made it possible to translate the aesthetic vision of the façades into technical reality, while simultaneously being awarded the most stringent environmental labels.
CEO of Saint-Gobain
