Concept by manuelle gautrand origami

Buildings in close quarters of monuments and historic architecture need to be able to steal the spotlight without hogging it. The French headquarters of the Barclays Capital Bank manages to stand out from but still respect its famous neighbors, including the Arc de Triomphe. Manuelle Gautrand Architects used an origami concept for the building's facade to create a playful double glass wall system.

An inner, conventional glass curtain wall and a second system of custom glass panels, screen printed with marble patterns, make up the skin of the building. The screen printed ‘marble’ panels, supported by stainless steel fittings and an aluminum curtain wall system, form a triangulated pattern of folded, 'open books' to create a sunshade on the facade and balcony railings on the upper floors.

The sunshade echoes the way a piece of origami appears when held, with deeper 'creasing' at the center of the façade which slowly flattens towards the edges of the building. Three types of ‘marble’ were also used to emphasize the effect: one darker and deeper veined in the center of the elevation and two lighter colored marbles with less veining towards the edges. The fading of the marble panels in relief and color is a bow to the adjacent buildings.

Although the designers initially wanted the façade to incorporate actual marble, they opted to screen-print marble patterns for the following advantages:

1. More control over design and color

2. Precise design of the book matched veining of the marble

3. Greater ability to produce more colors and types of marble

4. Durability of the screen-printed glass (when marble is cut into extremely thin veneers, the material has a tendency to ‘de-crystallize’ in appearance)

Gautrand’s design work often incorporates digital innovations and the intricate pattern of the marble panels was digitally modeled, fabricated, and assembled from precisely laid

Manuelle Gautrand: Origami Office Building in Paris

Situated in a luxurious parisian neighborhood within the vicinity of the arc de triomphe and within the sightlines of ideal city views, Manuelle Gautrand’s ‘origami office building’ strove to create a distinct, elegant mark on the urban fabric that was clearly in dialogue with the warm, weathered stones of the surrounding architecture.

The high-level office program was accommodated into an orthogonal volume clad in a double layered curtain wall of glazing and faceted, screen-printed marble skin. While the architect had original envisioned a sectioned marble envelope, the ‘marble origami’ pattern print allowed optimal control of the rich hues and design as well as a more purposeful application of the system as a shading device.

Source: Designboom
Image © Vincent Fillon

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This office building stands on avenue Friedland, in the immediate vicinity of the Arc de Triomphe and Place de l’Etoile, in a luxurious Parisian neighborhood.

The project was implemented in two parts: the main building on a 20 meter-wide stripe on the avenue, and an extension in the rear, between two courtyard gardens. At the ground floor level, the lobby plays on transparency between the street front and the main garden. The building in the rear of the lot is more private, and it is there that the cafeteria and meeting rooms are laid out, with garden space on both sides.

The unusual location of the site led us to design a project that would embrace and take advantage of the view and immerse into the natural light. An emblematic showcase of the building – the main façade is mostly glass, partially covered with a second-skin of screen-printed marble pattern.

The rendered effect is a tremendous origami and the view of this delicate folded marble can be enjoyed both from exterior and interior of the building.

The panels are composite, a film of marble mounted on a twin layer of glass. The symmetrical panels that are folded and assembled by two form an “open-book” pattern and thus highlight the design of the veins of the marble.

This second skin is translucent and acts as a breast wall to ensure privacy as well as filter daylight, creating a soft interior atmosphere.

Marble folds create a vibration along the 30 meter-long front. At both ends, in continuity with the façades of neighboring buildings, the origami becomes calmer and flattens out. But in the central part it forms a delicate bas-relief.

The project then develops into the depth of the site with the same objective of clarity while adding a strong presents of plants. The offices roofed with large lawns weave around the two courtyard gardens. The lobby functions as a meeting point of these two atmospheres – the urban and sophisticated of the main façade, and the more private and verdan

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Text description provided by the architects. This office building stands on avenue Friedland, in the immediate vicinity of the Arc de Triomphe and Place de l’Etoile, in a luxurious Parisian neighborhood.  The project was implemented in two parts: the main building on a 20 meter-wide stripe on the avenue, and an extension in the rear, between two courtyard gardens. At the ground floor level, the lobby plays on transparency between the street front and the main garden. The building in the rear of the lot is more private, and it is there that the cafeteria and meeting rooms are laid out, with garden space on both sides.

The unusual location of the site led us to design a project that would embrace and take advantage of the view and immerse into the natural light. An emblematic showcase of the building – the main façade is mostly glass, partially covered with a second-skin of screen-printed marble pattern. The rendered effect is a tremendous origami and the view of this delicate folded marble can be enjoyed both from exterior and interior of the building. 

The panels are composite, a film of marble mounted on a twin layer of glass. The symmetrical panels that are folded and assembled by two form an “open-book” pattern and thus highlight the design of the veins of the marble. This second skin is translucent and acts as a breast wall to ensure privacy as well as filter daylight, creating a soft interior atmosphere.

Marble folds create a vibration along the 30 meter-long front. At both ends, in continuity with the façades of neighboring buildings, the origami becomes calmer and flattens out. But in the central part it forms a delicate bas-relief. The project then develops into the depth of the site with the same objective of clarity while adding a strong presents of plants. The offices roofed with la