In this new neighbourhood in Lyon, the challenge is not only to create nice and performant indoor spaces, but also to create an enjoyable urban space. The 11 buildings surround two courtyards with different solar and wind conditions. Whereas one tends to be fresher as it has more wind and less sun, the other-one is warmer as it has more sun and less wind. These affect considerably the felt temperature across the squares. The uses in the ground floor have been adapted to the environmental conditions each zone has to offer.

In the new neighbourhood of La Confluence, new buildings follow closely the masterplan defined by Herzog & de Meuron. The architects Foster and Partners, Tectoniques and Link designed the buildings for the blocks B1 and C1N. On the river front, four educational buildings get the best views and are exposed to the main road whereas the residential buildings remain inside the urban tissue. All the buildings are organised within a grid that gives unity to ensemble.

Lyon is located at a latitude of 45.7ºN and has a temperate oceanic climate like most of France, but with more marked seasons. The average annual temperature is 13°C, and the diurnal range averages 7°K in winter and 10°K in summer. Winters are cold, with an average of 4ºC in January and regular drops below 0. Summers are hot, with averages reaching 28ºC in July and August: temperatures exceed 30ºC around twenty days a year, and goes above 35ºC a few days. Solar radiation is quite intense throughout the year, with a large proportion of direct sun. The average wind speed is around 3.2 m/s with predominant winds coming mainly from the northeast and southwest. Compared to Lyon-Bron, temperatures in Lyon-Confluence are slightly higher in winter than in summer and generally warmer at night than during the day. This is due to the presence of the rivers on both sides of the Confluence which stabilise temperatures. In 2050, temperature will be on average 1.3ºC higher than today.