Port Juvenal

Placed at one end of Antigone’s central axis, facing the river Lez and the Hôtel de la Region (seat of the Regional Government), the scheme for Port Juvenal completes the composition marked by a rhythm of squares.

Inspired by Bath’s Royal Crescent, RBTA’s design for this residential development has taken the shape of an amphitheatre bounded by a colonnade. With a diameter of 240 m and a total floor area of 30,695 m2, the scheme provides 350 apartments with double-exposure over seven floors, and retail area on the ground floor. The flexibility of the floor layout allowed modifying the initial distribution of one, two, three and four- bedroom apartments, and uniting or segregating residential units to meet future demands.

Viewed from the plaza formed by the crescent, the building shows a continuous line; from the outside, the convex façade is fragmented forming twelve practically detached buildings, thus enhancing the sense of individuality.

Montpellier’s Renaissance past resonates in the extensive use of classical architectural elements such as the pediments, plinths, capitols, friezes, balustrades and moldings, built of precast concrete, molded and finished like natural stone.

Extending over two hectares towards the river Lez, the landscaped public plaza Esplanade de l’Europe retains the classical proportions of the crescent building. The vibrant riverbank is lined with open air cafés and restaurants that further animate the area and encourage social interaction.