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Architects: Zita! Damien Guiot Architectes + Urbanistes
- Area: 1120 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Maxime Vermeulen
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Manufacturers: Dickson, EPDM Solutions, Placo, Reynaers
Text description provided by the architects. The project aims to transform a "temple of consumption" (the existing commercial building) into a "cathedral of culture"; not in the sense of replacing one with the other, but by taking the best of both.
Within the framework of the rehabilitation, the project preserves the qualities of the commercial building - namely, the large surface area it provides and the freedom of layout it offers through the absence of any load-bearing walls or posts over large distances - and provides what is necessary for the proper functioning of a public facility: light, views to the outside, comfort, quality of spaces and a strong identity.
Only a few masonry walls and the lower slab are preserved and, on this base and within this enclosure, a new project is created and based on a volumetric device that will transcend all the objectives of the program: a system of shells is set up to be visible beyond the existing walls to reveal and transfigure a new identity for the building. They will thus mark the idea of renewal and a profound transformation of the site.
The shells are all identical; each of them is glazed on its highest side to bring natural light at any time of the day into the heart of the media library and to get views of the sky, the trees, the church tower, etc. In addition, the multiplication of the shells creates an "egg box" shape that improves the acoustics of the consultation areas.
A steel framework supports the entire roof, including 750m² without intermediate supports. An EPDM membrane covers all the roofs and the transoms of the aluminum windows. Metal gargoyles showcase the rainwater flowing from the gutter network to the surrounding green spaces.
Most of the media library's spaces are open. Thus, under this emblematic roof, the few closed and isolated functions are distributed throughout the vast hall. They are identified in "boxes" that structure the different clusters and spaces. This arrangement makes it possible, without partitioning or artifice, to define spaces on a human scale and conducive to the appropriation of the premises. These boxes also make the spaces even more open. Indeed, the walls are conceived as supports for displays, picture rails, projections, and above all shelving to free the space from linear shelving units and to favor exhibitions and circulation between the different thematic areas.
