L'Arbre Blanc is the story of a wild idea: to build a 17-storey tower like a tree whose branches reach for the sky. In this striking white-concrete tower — unique in the Montpellier skyline — the 193 balconies are the branches, conceived as full rooms of each apartment and stretching out in every direction. Delivered in spring 2019 and voted the most beautiful residential building in the world, it is a multi-programmatic tower bringing together homes, a restaurant, an art gallery, offices, a panoramic bar, and shared space, all built around a deep attachment to the art of "living outside."
The building was born of an exceptional meeting at the heart of the regional metropolis, between Japan and the Mediterranean. Designed by the Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto alongside his French peers Nicolas Laisné, Manal Rachdi, and Dimitri Roussel, it draws on a Mediterranean identity and a Japanese culture in equal measure: thick, porous thresholds for living both indoors and out, a deliberate confusion between the living room and the balcony, with exterior spaces of rare generosity meant to become living places in their own right. Its organic form was inspired by the slow erosion of water and wind over time, the curve of its façade maximising light and panorama while preserving the views of neighbouring residences.
The construction itself was a feat. Rising 56 metres over 17 storeys, the tower used nearly 7,850 cubic metres of white concrete supplied by a local company — the colour a nod to the Mediterranean and the stones of the South, and a clever way to reflect rather than absorb the sun's rays. Thanks to a hyper-fluid, high-strength concrete that hardened quickly, a floor could be raised every six days. The 193 metal balconies, clad in wood, grow from small 7 m² perches at the base to terraces of up to 30 m² near the summit — that gradation of size is exactly what evokes a tree, massive at the trunk and finer toward the crown. Cantilevered out by as much as 7.5 metres (a world first in 2019) and positioned in a staggered pattern, they grant each occupant intimacy, light, and shade at once. Inspired by the cool refuge found beneath a tree's foliage, they shade the apartments' sliding metal-mesh shutters, harvest rainwater, and host hanging gardens and misting systems — cutting the building's energy use by 20 to 30%. In a seismic region, a specially designed flush-headed screw and crane-laid steel structures were created to keep these audacious balconies stable and safe.
Unlike a classic residential tower built around privacy, L'Arbre Blanc was designed to be alive — its vast hanging gardens giving an impression of "life" seen from outside, and several of its spaces opened up to the city. At ground level sit a restaurant and an art gallery, with offices on the first floor and, crowning the building, a panoramic rooftop bar offering a sweeping 360° view over Montpellier, open to the public until 1am and able to welcome up to 300 people. Among its 113 apartments and shared spaces, the building has earned international acclaim, named "Best Tall Building Award of Excellence" winner in 2021 and the world's most beautiful residential building by ArchDaily in 2020.
Its position is strategic. Set in the Richter district on place Christophe Colomb, at the crossing of rue Vendémiaire, the allée Capitaine Dreyfus, and the pont Juvénal, it stands between the city centre and the newer neighbourhoods of Port Marianne and Odysseum — halfway between the "old" and the new Montpellier — beside the Lez and its riverside walks, just minutes from the centre, the TGV station, and the airport, and ten minutes from the beaches. From its heights, the views stretch to the sea, the Pic Saint-Loup, and the city and the Lez below. Bold, organic, and resolutely open to the city, L'Arbre Blanc is a true architectural landmark — and one of the most remarkable sights of contemporary Montpellier.