Nicolas Laisné’s Open Architecture: From One Open Tower to L’Arbre Blanc

French architect Nicolas Laisné (born 1977) uses his practice Nicolas Laisné Architectes (NLA) to create vertical buildings that foster social interaction and environmental sustainability. His manifesto piece, One Open Tower, a wooden tower-sculpture with dozens of platforms animated by miniature human figures by artist Guy Limone, was presented at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale curated by Hashim Sarkis under the theme 'How will we live together?' In Montpellier, NLA collaborated with Sou Fujimoto Architects, Oxo Architectes, and DREAM on L’Arbre Blanc (completed 2019), a tower with 193 hanging gardens fanning out from the building core. Its record 7.5-meter cantilevers provide shading that reduces energy consumption by 30%. In Nice, NLA and DREAM completed Anis (2019), an office building with all circulation moved outdoors, connected by garden terraces. Its 2,400 square meters of outdoor space—one-third of the total floor area—earned it a spot on the EU Mies Award 2022 shortlist. NLA’s team of 50 professionals is working on projects including collective residences in Vélizy near the Meudon forest, the Woodwork timber office building in Saint-Denis, and the Arboretum timber campus in Nanterre-La Défense. Future plans include a second French office in Marseille and one in the USA. NLA recently opened a new headquarters in Paris’s 11th arrondissement, featuring multiple terraces for working outdoors.