The Confluence area on the "peninsula" at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone in Lyon has been transforming from an industrial zone into a mixed development area since the beginning of the 21st century. Now the second phase of the project is underway - according to the plan of architects Herzog & de Meuron. Within its framework, the 53-meter Ycone tower (14 floors) by Jean Nouvel appeared.
Its section is very difficult: office buildings are located close to each other, a railway passes nearby. Therefore, the lower part of the building was closed with a “buffer” of tall pears and oaks, while above it it expands, as if taking advantage of a freer position - and a panoramic view of the city, rivers, and the Alps on the horizon opening from the seventh floor. The Y-shaped silhouette gave the building its name.
The area of 92 apartments ranges from 30 to 215 m2, and the cheaper ones received higher ceilings and the ability to connect two into one. The 27 apartments in the building are social, which gives the building conceived by all interested parties, including the developers Vinci Immobilier and Groupe Cardinal, social diversity. 65 commercial apartments are sold at an average price of 6,500 euros / m2.
The Ycone feature, besides the silhouette, is the double front. The base layer consists of aluminum cassette panels in 21 pastel shades. Then there is a gap with balconies and terraces, and from the outside the tower is covered with a light "veil" of glass. The same seeming feeling of lightness should be created by a "second roof" of 80 tons of metal.
The first floor of the building is occupied by public functions and infrastructure for residents, in a two-tiered underground garage there are 67 parking spaces.
