MAD Architects has announced the completion of UNIC Paris the firm’s first built project in Europe.

Located in Paris’s 17th arrondissement, Clichy-Batignolles, UNIC integrates into this “eco-district” with its soft lines and fluid, cantilevered floorplates. The design reflects a contemporary vision of bringing nature into the urban environment.

Mixed-Use Living in Urban Renewal

Located in the northwest of Paris, Clichy-Batignolles was once a rail yard and ancillary station land. By the 1970s, the area had become largely abandoned, with fragmented plots and a lack of green space.

In 2001, the site was originally planned as the Olympic Village for Paris’s bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. Later, under the city's broader goals of "repairing the urban fabric" and "building an ecological city," it was transformed into a 54-hectare mixed-use eco-district. The development consists of 27 building plots organized around the 10-hectare Martin Luther King Park, forming an integrated urban environment.

The district is also one of the most diverse areas in Paris. Departing from the traditional Haussmann-style apartment blocks, the area features a new generation of architecture designed through international competitions, involving both local and global architects in a collaborative masterplanning process.

New buildings such as the courthouse, police station, commercial spaces, offices, cultural venues, and public facilities have brought a renewed identity and vitality to the community.

The 3,400 residential units in the district are divided into three categories: 50% social housing, 30% market-rate private housing, and 20% high-end residences accommodating residents from a wide range of backgrounds and social strata.。

The Infinite Extension of Nature into Architecture

“In large cities, dense high-rises are increasingly disconnected from nature. With UNIC, we wanted to continue Paris’s tradition of integrating nature and gardens into the urban environment — which is why we introduced generous natural spaces on every level of the building.”
— Ma Yansong

UNIC steps back gradually from bottom to top, creating a rich vertical composition. Through its varied terraces, the design extends the ecological landscape into the architectural volume forming a new type of spatial experience where people and nature interact and engage. Its flowing, organic form also reflects the architectural and cultural diversity of the surrounding context.

On the upper levels, the terraces offer panoramic views of Paris. Residents on the east side can look out toward Montmartre in the city’s north, while those living above the eighth floor on the southwest side enjoy views of the Eiffel Tower.

Spacious terraces and transparent floor-to-ceiling windows blur the boundary between interior and exterior, creating bright, vibrant, and fluid interior spaces.

UNIC employs a simple dual-core structural system and a concrete façade. The lightness of the materials complements the structural fluidity, reflecting the building’s simplicity and elegance.

Community Planning Through Shared Participation

UNIC shares a podium with an adjacent social housing building, integrating a kindergarten, dining facilities, supermarket, and access to the metro station within the base. By combining private residences with public amenities, the project strengthens everyday community connections and brings residents closer together through an innovative spatial configuration.

immeuble1oeuv, a new installation by Studio Tobias Rehberger, located at Pont Cardinet Station in Paris’s 17th arrondissement.

During the early design phase of UNIC, the local community actively participated in discussions about the residential project. Through a series of workshops, MAD’s design team collaborated with local architects, residents, and the developer to explore topics such as urban planning, sustainability, resource sharing, and energy management. This process ensured that UNIC would become a creative project fully integrated with the surrounding community.

To support Paris’s bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, Ma Yansong presented his UNIC sketch to Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Ma Yansong (left) and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo (right), who oversaw the planning and workshops for the Clichy-Batignolles district.

Clichy-Batignolles District Design Hearings
UNIC in the Global Context

As a reflection of Paris’s ongoing evolution as an international metropolis, UNIC has been featured in several major exhibitions. It was showcased in “MAD X,” the first permanent architectural collection exhibition by MAD at the Centre Pompidou in 2019, and later in the 2021 special exhibition “Architectures in Paris (1948–2020): Witnesses of Urban Process” at the West Bund Museum in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou.

UNIC at the MAD X exhibition
Photo: Hervé Véronèse

“Architectures in Paris (1948–2020): Witnesses of Urban Process”
Photo: Tian Fangfang

“Architect Ma Yansong’s work blends technology and nature, merging aspects of both Western and Asian cultures to create flowing, organic forms that offer sensory experiences in harmony with the landscape.
Inspired by the spirit of traditional Chinese landscape painting, MAD infuses natural elements such as forests and rivers into the urban realm.”

— Exhibition description of UNIC from “Architectures in Paris (1948–2020): Witnesses of Urban Process”

UNIC
Paris, France
2012–2019

Site Area: 1,033 sqm
Gross Floor Area: 6,600 sqm
Building Height: 50 m

Principal Partners: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate Partners: Andrea D'Antrassi, Flora Lee
Design Team: Zhao Wei, Wu Kaicong, Daniel Gillen, Jiang Bin, Tristan Brasseur, Juan Valeros, Gustavo Alfred van Staveren, Xin Dogterom, Juan Pablo, Cesar de Pena Del Rey, Natalia Giacomino, Torsten Radunski, Rozita Kahirtseva

Client: Emerige
Local Architect & Project Coordination: BIECHER Architectes
Structural Engineering: BECIP – BET Structure
MEP Consultant: ESPACE TEMPS – BET Fluides
Landscape Design: PHYTOLAB – BET Paysagiste
Interior Design: Charles Zana
Project Management: Artelia
Construction: Vinci Sicra Île-de-France
Photography: Jared Chulski, Adam Mørk, Exist Photography, Shu He