TAO ZHU YIN YUAN, TAIPEI More than 23,000 plants, shrubs and trees will be planted over the entire heights of this earthquake-proof tower currently under construction.

and nature-inspired structures of the modern architecture of these eight prototypes, which produce all the energy that the Haussmann-period buildings require, from renewable sources and urban agriculture.

As part of this plan, the orbital motorway becomes the 21st arrondissement of Paris2. At every motorway exit, vertical urban farms grow organic produce according to the principles of permaculture and agroecology3. This

healthy food would be sold locally to restore the ties between farmers and conscious consumers. As the focus shifts back to pedestrians, the old circular railway line would be reopened to the general public to install communal allotments and orchards. Finally, the high-rise tower blocks in the 13th arrondissement would be renovated with new façades, on which vegetable gardens would be supported by a dual-skin frontage made of woven bamboo. On the Rue de Rivoli in the historical centre, mountain tower blocks would be planted with the best grapes from France s vineyards around social housing units, whose photovoltaic panels would point towards the Tuileries gardens for optimal energy efficiency.

From the lab to the building sites

My company of architects operates like a permanent think-tank, where architects, scientists and industrial manufacturers build international bridges between the R&D in the lab and the application of research to building sites.

Ten years ago, I imagined and designed floating villages inspired by the giant Amazonian water lilies, which I called Lilypads : these structures would be designed to shelter the future 250 million climatic refugees. In 2009, I also collaborated with the MIT on the development of the first vertical farm

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LILYPADS, MONACO This floating ecopolis is inspired by the radial and concentric structure of the

leaves of the giant Amazonian lilies, whose remarkable plasticity is applied to marine

architecture.

BEYOND WORDS

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