{"id":190274,"date":"2025-10-10T10:58:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T10:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/190274\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T10:58:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T10:58:12","slug":"big-wins-congress-center-competition-in-france-with-roofline-echoing-waves-of-the-seine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/190274\/","title":{"rendered":"BIG wins congress center competition in france with roofline echoing waves of the seine"},"content":{"rendered":"

big\u2019s Winning Design Brings Flowing Timber Landmark to france<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)<\/a> is selected to design Rouen\u2019s new congress center, nicknamed The Sail, a landmark project that is set to rise along the banks of the Seine in northern France<\/a>. The 11,500-square-meter complex introduces a striking roofline<\/a> that crests and dips like waves above the river. The building is designed to serve as a civic gathering point and an international events venue and seeks to reconnect the city to its waterfront.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Commissioned by M\u00e9tropole Rouen Normandie, the project includes two auditoriums, exhibition<\/a> halls, meeting rooms, a restaurant<\/a>, and support spaces. Designed in collaboration with BLP & associ\u00e9s, The Sail aims to achieve Passivhaus certification, setting a new benchmark for energy-efficient public architecture in France. The timber<\/a> structure and facades<\/a> of the building reinterpret Rouen\u2019s vernacular of half-timbered houses.<\/p>\n

\"BIG
all images by Atchain<\/a> & BIG<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

rainwater collecting roof tops \u2018the sail\u2019<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the river, The Sail appears as a light, horizontal volume rising gently above the landscape, while from the city, its photovoltaic roof hovers over a new public forecourt that extends the urban fabric to the water\u2019s edge. In this area, the international architecture firm<\/a>\u00a0combines open stone-paved plazas with clusters of trees and planting, forming shaded gathering areas and green buffers around the site. Rainwater collected from the roof irrigates these planted zones, and a network of pedestrian paths connects the center seamlessly to its surroundings.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Rising along the Seine, The Sail introduces a new silhouette to Rouen with its sweeping roofline paying tribute to the city\u2019s naval heritage and historic skyline of spires,\u2019 says Jakob Sand, partner at BIG. \u2018The building greets visitors from the highway with a vertical facade, while on the city side, the roof creates sheltered canopies extending the foyer into a human-scaled public landscape. Built with mass timber construction, daylight-optimized interiors and an energy-producing roof, it is both a low-impact infrastructure and a cultural hub \u2014 offering an inclusive space for Rouen and its visitors.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Inside, a spacious, light-filled foyer functions as the central social space, linking all program areas. A grand staircase leads to the main auditorium, and the overlapping levels connect the public and professional zones inside The Sail.<\/p>\n

\"BIG
a striking roofline that crests and dips like waves above the river<\/p>\n

\"BIG
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is selected to design Rouen\u2019s new congress center<\/p>\n

\"BIG
open stone-paved plazas with clusters of trees and planting form shaded gathering areas<\/p>\n

\"BIG
the timber structure and facades of the building reinterpret Rouen\u2019s vernacular of half-timbered houses<\/p>\n

\"BIG
a spacious, light-filled foyer functions as the central social space<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"big\u2019s Winning Design Brings Flowing Timber Landmark to france \u00a0 Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is selected to design…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[14739,6225,6485,6486,83525,1120,96,11126,32839,56,54,55,18001],"class_list":["post-190274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-architecture-in-france","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-bjarke-ingels-group-big","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-facades","tag-rooftop-architecture-and-design","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wood-and-timber-architecture-and-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}