Innovation! The definitive watchword of La Cité Universelle in Paris. La Cité Universelle took the stage at SIATI (Real Estate, Spatial Planning & Innovation Summit) on 20 October 2020, to receive its award as the most innovative real estate development operation.
Organised by the Leaders League group, SIATI brings together more than 600 decision-makers from the city’s real estate and manufacturing value chain each year. Aimed at building bridges between the public and the private sector, the Summit is attended by leading figures from three ecosystems (real estate, regional development, innovation), strengthens their ties, confronts their strategic visions and encourages them to share their expertise.
This award for the most innovative real estate development operation paid tribute to a bold and highly inclusive project: La Cité Universelle, located at Porte de Pantin in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, and meant as a symbol of universal accessibility. It was developed under the impetus of Ryadh Sallem, a high-level athlete, community activist, Social and Solidarity Economy entrepreneur and Paris 2024 Ambassador.
With its 30,000 m², the building offers equal access, participation and amenity conditions to all groups. La Cité Universelle is based on a strong conviction: by extensively providing for the usage requirements of people with disabilities, it significantly enriches each person’s user experience.
La Cité Universelle is innovative not only in its concept but also in its form. Co-designed by architectural agencies Baumschlager Eberle Architekten and Studio Montazami, it is an expression of movement and ensures the continuity of the public space around the building with an ascending and circular external promenade. With its light, transparent façade, La Cité Universelle marks the Parisian landscape and engages dialogue with all the buildings around it, in particular with La Philharmonie de Paris.
A truly inclusive ecosystem, La Cité Universelle will be composed of 4 hubs:
- The sports hub consists of a multi-purpose gym spanning nearly 3,800 m² on the ground. Out of the 1,000 seats, 20% will be accessible to people with disabilities. This is 10 times more than the norm. A training venue and the headquarters of CAPSAAA, the adapted sports club, this fully scalable room will host national and international competitions, and be the setting for preparations for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
- The Healthcare hub, operated by IPSO Santé, will respond to the needs of La Cité Universelle’s daily users and local residents.
- The Work’in centre will house a co-working space operated by Startway Coworking & Innovation Centers, 18,000 m² of offices and the headquarters of the Handitech Association.
- The Hospitality hub will offer 100 hotel rooms, all wheelchair-accessible, a few of which will be suited to the severely-disabled.
It is this outstanding capacity for innovation to set up a real estate development operation – a concept lodged in the very DNA of GA Smart Building – which the jury, made up of professionals gathered for this 6th edition of the SIATI, has recognised.
