Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has revealed its design for a new congress center in Rouen, France, featuring a distinctive sweeping timber roof that pays homage to the city's maritime heritage. The building, aptly nicknamed 'The Sail,' is strategically positioned along the Seine riverfront and is envisioned as a vibrant public gathering place that will reconnect the city with its historic waterfront while providing new cultural and civic amenities to residents and visitors alike.
Designed specifically for the Rouen Normandy Metropolis, this ambitious project seamlessly combines contemporary architectural expression with thoughtful references to Rouen's rich maritime and urban heritage. The comprehensive program includes two fully equipped auditoriums, expansive exhibition spaces, a restaurant, multipurpose meeting rooms, and essential supporting back-of-house areas. These diverse functions work together to create a flexible venue capable of supporting year-round cultural programming, economic activities, and public events of various scales.
The building has been designed to meet rigorous Passivhaus certification standards, placing energy efficiency and environmental performance at the center of its architectural concept. This commitment to sustainability demonstrates BIG's dedication to creating buildings that not only serve their communities but also protect the environment for future generations.
The architectural design draws direct inspiration from Rouen's traditional half-timbered houses, a characteristic feature of Norman architecture. This influence is expressed through carefully crafted timber and glass facades that bring both warmth and transparency to the structure. The most striking feature is the roofline, which has been shaped to resemble the sails of a ship, creating an unmistakable silhouette against the sky. This roof is covered with state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels that contribute significantly to on-site energy production, further enhancing the building's sustainable credentials.
Toward the river and main road, the building's tallest facade features impressive long timber columns that support the gracefully curving roof, establishing a commanding visual presence along the waterfront. On the city side, the roof descends dramatically into six scalloped waves that extend outward, forming protective canopies that define an inviting outdoor public space and provide essential shelter for gathering and circulation. This design creates multiple layers of interaction between the building and its surroundings.
The surrounding landscape has been carefully planned to extend the existing urban fabric to the river's edge. The design combines open plazas paved with locally sourced stone and thoughtfully planted areas featuring native trees and vegetation. These green buffers help shape comfortable, shaded gathering spaces around the building while seamlessly integrating it with its natural and built surroundings. An innovative rainwater collection system captures water from the roof to irrigate the plantings, supporting sustainable water management practices throughout the site.
A comprehensive network of pedestrian paths connects the site with adjacent streets and existing waterfront spaces, naturally guiding visitors toward the building's entrances while encouraging exploration of the broader area. This connectivity ensures that the congress center becomes an integral part of the city's pedestrian infrastructure rather than an isolated structure.
Inside the building, a large, light-filled foyer serves as the primary circulation and gathering space, creating a welcoming atmosphere for visitors. A dramatic central staircase connects this area directly to the main auditorium, while carefully planned overlapping levels provide visual connections between different programmatic zones throughout the building. The spatial organization has been intentionally designed to maintain openness, support efficient movement throughout the building, and create clear, intuitive relationships between interior and exterior spaces.
This latest project adds to BIG's growing portfolio of innovative architectural works. In other recent developments, the firm has completed the Robert Day Sciences Center at Claremont McKenna College in California, showcasing their expertise in educational architecture. The studio, working in collaboration with Doug Aitken Workshop, NIRAS, Volcano, and RWDI, also recently won a competition to redesign three public spaces around major music venues in Ørestad, Copenhagen. Additionally, in partnership with HNTB, BIG has broken ground on its first realized Major League Baseball stadium in Las Vegas, demonstrating the firm's versatility across different building types and scales.
