An artist's rendition of the Thousand Trees project's "floating village."
What is now a parking lot on Paris’ edge will become the home of the city’s new skyline, featuring a “floating” village in the middle of a forest.
Two architectural firms, SouFujimotoArchitects and Oxo Architects, joined forces to create , aptly named for the 1,000 trees that will be planted on the structure, according to one of the firms' website.
The structure will be a multi-layered, with one serving as a pedestrian bridge over a highway.
"You go up, you go through the forest, and you go to your small home and garden," saidManal Rachdi, founder ofOxo Architects. "You really have a normal house on top of the building. The only difference from a normal house—you have a view of the Eiffel Tower."
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According to Co.Exist, , which is a highway separating the city center from the suburbs. A layer higher than the bridge will feature small single-family homes and apartments, as well as offices, a daycare and restaurants.
"One of the major ideas is how to invent a new way of living in Paris," saidRachdi. "As you may know, Paris is a stone city—there's not a lot of trees, not a lot of vegetation. We wanted to create this living space surrounded by nature ... connected to the city, but surrounded by nature."
The building will be powered via solar, wind and geothermal energy, Co.Exist also reports. All the different parts of the building are connected by an “energy loop,” meaning if one of the buildings is producing extra energy, that energy can be used by a different building.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the next two years and the project is expected to be completed in 2021 or 2022.
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