Daniel Libeskind to design spiraling garden tower and new East Thiers Train Station in France

Daniel Libeskind has two more mixed-use projects in tow, this time in France. Recently, Studio Libeskind had the winning schemes for the Occitanie Tower in Toulouse and the new East Thiers Train Station in Nice. The projects unveil a new urban redevelopment strategy for both cities set forth by French commercial real estate firm Compagnie de Phalsbourg.

Read on for more.

As Toulouse's first skyscraper, the Occitanie Tower will take over the former site of the Gare Matabiau postal sorting center in the city's evolving business district. The “curvaceous” tower will be a 150-meter-tall glass structure wrapped in a spiraling “ribbon” of vertical gardens (designed by landscape architect Nicolas Gilsoul) that will start from street level up to the 40th floor — a reference to the Canal du Midi that winds through the city, according to the architects.

The scheme includes 11,000 square meters of office space, a Hilton hotel, 120 apartment units, a restaurant with panoramic views, and retail space. Libeskind will work with local architect Francis Cardete on the tower, which is currently scheduled to start construction in 2018 and will be completed in 2022.

In Nice, Libeskind collaborated with Fevrier Carre Architectes and landscape architect Jean Mus to design the new East Thiers Train Station (Gare Thiers-Est) as part of a major redevelopment. The project will add new pedestrian pathways between the station and the street.

As Libeskind's buildings tend to look, the station's design features angular forms — which were inspired by the mineral azurite — and will have peaks up to 40 meters tall to conceal the train tracks. “My aim was to create a building that is seen from all angles — that will become the connective tissue between two sectors and reconnect the neighborhoods,” Daniel Libeskind said in a statement. 

Once the train station is completed in late 2019, it'll also boast a Hilton hotel, a 600-seat auditorium, coworking spaces, terraced cafes, and 18,300 square-meters of high-end commercial space. Construction is expected to start later this year.

Last year, Studio Libeskind won the competition for yet another mixed-use complex in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.

Images courtesy of Studio Daniel Libeskind.

Find more project images in the gallery below.