Neos, Montpellier

Neos in Greek signi­fies ​“the newest addi­tion”. Like a helio­trope, the buil­ding feeds off the sun. It lights up above so as bet­ter to reflect the sun’s rays as it blends into the sky. This new office block looks over the Montpellier old town to the north and turns towards the sea to take in the sun from the South. The vast roof ter­race is a space that is both wel­co­ming and impres­sive, with its spec­ta­cu­lar view to the south. On the ground floor, the spaces open out onto a large ter­race.

Its light, vibra­ting shell, which is exten­ded by an urban visor to the north and south, is its main bio-cli­ma­tic fea­ture. This shell pro­vides both pro­tec­tion from the sun and pro­tec­tion from the wind on the ter­races. It is a new urban land­mark that has become part of the sky­line at the gates of Montpellier.

Neos is also a kine­tic buil­ding. The way it is per­cei­ved and its color change in line with the move­ments of whoe­ver is loo­king at it. Whether a pedes­trian or a dri­ver, from afar or from close up, the per­cep­tion is never the same. The aspect and colors of the buil­ding also change line with the time of day, the wea­ther and the sun path. 

This opti­cal effect helps to leve­rage the building’s loca­tion at the gates of the city and opti­mises its cross­roads posi­tion. Neos will soon have a twin buil­ding loca­ted clo­ser to the centre.