IJASOS- International E-journal of Advances in Social Sciences

Abstract

Emerging built
landscapes and urban densities, together with a distressing human-nature
estrangement, represent the main challenges of today`s developers. Real
concerns such as pollution, climate change or nature-deficit-syndromes impact
the human world on every scale, raising attention towards seeking change in
attitude and low impact methodologies in the built context. Beginning with the
Industrial Revolution when new technologies encouraged architectural
reinvention, continuing through the Digital Era that transformed building and
thinking once again, the natural environment has undergone a constant decrease
in surface and importance in cities worldwide.

Corporate
architecture has always adopted building innovation, aiming for higher prestige
and marketability through a polished, impressive, even intimidating image.
Exterior aspect, energy performance, indoor quality and
technology-proneness are some of the points pursued by both managers and
investor when choosing a new business site. But the foremost aspects when
buying or renting a new office building are location and price.

Increasing
demands for office surface have led to vertical building, which rose new issues
in the European urban network, due to strict urban requirements. Thus, the
selection of optimal office building location has been a challenge for the
narrow-street structure of European cities, leading to several typologies:
historical districts, urban and suburban areas or independent workplace
centers. Each location has in turn determined different intervention types:
refurbishment or renovation, functional conversion, new building, causing
various dialogues with the urban nature.

As every
European city and country has its own regulations depending on geographical,
climatic, cultural and political factors, the research was focused on one case
study that allowed drawing relevant conclusions on the matter. With its rich
urban and architectural background, a diverse and ever developing business
environment, the French capital, Paris, is among the most interesting European
metropolis for its urban development. A clear distinction can be made here
between three different typologies of commercial districts: historical type
(the Central Business District, in western Paris), the modernist La Défense (on
the Northern-Western outskirts), the newer Saint-Denis/Saint-Ouen and
Issy-les-Moulineaux (in the Northern and Southern suburbs). Approximately 100
buildings from these locations and the close vicinity have been analyzed aiming
to classify their connection to outdoor and indoor plants and observe how these
reflect on real estate rent cost. Another argument for choosing Paris for this
case study is the relative recent implementation of the “Biotope Area Factor”
principle that demands a balanced use of vegetation in the built fabric for
both new constructions and refurbishment projects. Alike other several European
capitals (Berlin, Stockholm, London) the urban landscape is slowly transforming
towards a more sustainable one, while keeping a certain flexibility in
selecting the green systems.

The main
objective of this research is to determine the office building-greenery
relation from economical, urban and architectural points of view. It is
essentially important to understand how energetic certificates and green space
proximity rise the real estate value, making the building more attractive,
updated and innovative regarding ecological visions. Furthermore, establishing
link typologies between location, building type and vegetation can highlight
the optimal greening potential of each site type. A construction located in the
dense city center is expected to benefit from more introverted nature (interior
courtyards, green walls, etc.) comparing to a less dense suburban site.

Although the study was conducted on a small sample
relative to the complexity of the topic, the model might be further applied on
a larger scale, comparing different cities worldwide, practically creating
local frameworks for architects, managers and investors, towards responsible
implementation of vegetated material in the office building sector.