VILLA M BY TRIPTYQUE AND PHILIPPE STARCK BRINGS A VERTICAL TROPICAL OASIS TO PARIS

In the dense urban landscape of Paris’ Left Bank, Triptyque Architecture and Philippe Starck have reimagined the relationship between architecture, health and nature with Villa M, a hybrid destination where hospitality, wellbeing and biophilic design converge inside a living urban ecosystem.

Located on Boulevard Pasteur in the Montparnasse district, Villa M challenges the traditional image of healthcare-oriented architecture. Rather than creating an isolated medical facility, the project proposes an open and vibrant vertical environment designed to reconnect the city with the living world. Wrapped in a lightweight steel exoskeleton filled with medicinal plants, fruit trees and cascading vegetation, the building transforms into a tropical structure growing directly within the Parisian skyline.

More than a mixed-use development, Villa M operates as an architectural manifesto for a new urban lifestyle. Conceived by Triptyque as a “living building,” the project integrates nature not as decoration, but as active infrastructure. The vegetated façade improves thermal comfort, supports biodiversity and softens the mineral density of the city while redefining sustainable architecture in Paris.

Inside, Philippe Starck imagines a warm and immersive atmosphere balancing contemporary hospitality with organic materials and playful spatial sequences. Wood, concrete, soft lighting and lush greenery create interiors that feel closer to a retreat than a conventional urban hotel. The project combines hotel rooms, coworking spaces, wellness facilities, healthcare programs, restaurants, rooftop terraces and collaborative environments into a single interconnected ecosystem dedicated to wellbeing and human interaction.

Villa M also reflects a broader transformation in contemporary cities, where healthcare extends beyond hospital walls and merges with everyday urban life. Designed years before the pandemic, the building anticipated a growing demand for flexible, health-oriented and community-driven spaces. Its open terraces, rooftop gardens and public areas encourage social exchange while offering rare moments of calm within one of Europe’s densest capitals.

Floating above Paris with panoramic views toward the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides, the rooftop garden reinforces the project’s central idea: architecture can become a living landscape capable of healing both the city and its inhabitants.

data sheet

project: villa m
location: paris, france
architects: triptyque architecture > triptyque.com
interior architecture + art direction: philippe starck
date: 2015–2021
program: mixed-use health + hospitality complex
area: 8,000 m²
client: groupe pasteur mutualité
landscape: coloco
structure: steel + concrete
typology: biophilic urban architecture
key features: vertical garden, health-focused design, rooftop oasis, sustainable mixed-use building

photography:  Yann Monel + Press distribution 

source: v2com