Escale Numérique is a Free, Green-Roofed WiFi Station in Paris

<a href="http://www.mathieulehanneur.fr/" target="_blank">Mathieu Lehanneur</a> recently unveiled a free WiFi station covered with a beautiful green roof in Paris! The designer worked in collaboration with outdoor advertiser <a href="http://www.jcdecaux.com/" target="_blank">JCDecaux</a> to tap into an underground fiber optic network to create a haven of peace available to everyone. Escale Numérique (which translates to Digital Break) features concrete swivel seats with mini tables and plugs on their base and a large touch screen that provides updated information about services in the city for visitors or those without their devices. Totally free and available for anyone, Escale Numérique is a brilliant installation that offers up a free connection to the internet.

<a href="http://www.mathieulehanneur.fr/" target="_blank">Mathieu Lehanneur</a> and <a href="http://www.jcdecaux.com/" target="_blank">JCDecaux</a> won the call for intelligent furniture projects by the <a href="http://www.paris.fr/" target="_blank">Mairie de Paris</a> Escale Numérique, a connected haven of peace available to everyone.

The free WiFi station is on the Rond Point des Champs-Elysées and takes advantage of the underground fibre optic network which is now supplying the capital.

This is not a rendering - it's for real.

Lehanneur likens the project to the "Wallace fountains, which since the end of the 19th century have offered Parisian the free drinking water which was circulating beneath their feet, Escale Numérique allows everyone to benefit, like a real public service, from a high-speed WIFI connection by raising it from beneath the ground."

Escale Numérique sits idle for a few moments.

The digital service station gets its high-speed internet connection from the fiber optics directly underground.

It features super durable swivel chairs made from concrete and mini tables connected to the seat are perfect for a laptop, smart phone, tablet or even just an old-school book.

The hard-wearing chairs are of a simple design that can take a lot of use and handle the weather.

Vertical logs, like tree trunks, are used to support the shade structure, which is topped off with a green roof.

The living roof was designed to be attractive both from the ground as well as from a balcony above.

Attached to the station is a large touch screen that provides information about the city, news and augmented reality for tourists and visitors who do not have a device with which to get online.

Escale Numérique is certainly the prettiest WiFi stop we've seen and is at the intersection of great design and technology.

Rendering of Escale Numérique.