Cite du Design / LIN Architects

SCD-66
© Christian Richters

After winning an international competition, LIN Architects’ “Centre International du Design” facility for research, communication and education in design is now open.  In addition to renovating several buildings on the historic site of the National Arms Manufacture in St. Etienne, the project also incorporates the integration of a new building, the “platine” which is an interclimatic laboratory, a 31 m high observation tower, gardens and a public esplanade.

More about the project after the break.

SCD-62
© Christian Richters

The Platine’s geometric skin pattern is an adaptive envelope that wraps exhibition spaces, an auditorium, a green house and a library.  The seemingly random dispersion of transparent and opaque triangles is linked to the varying programmatic element’s needs of light.  In this way, the façade responds to the program housed within while also becoming an expression of the different activities in the Cité du Design.

All images from LIN Architects.

SCD-69
© Christian Richters
SCD-72
© Christian Richters
SCD-75
© Christian Richters
SCD-57
© Christian Richters

All photos © Christian Richters

Site: Saint-Etienne, Loire,
Client: Saint-Etienne Metropole
Team: Architects: LIN Finn Geipel + Giulia Andi, Berlin/Paris with:
Philip König, Stefan Jeske (Project Managers), Jan-Oliver Kunze, Judith Stichtenoth, Francois Maisonnasse, Muriel Poncet, Marielle Gilibert, Heiko Walth;
Assitants to the execution of construction: Benjamin Wallerand, Lyon, Maurice Guitton, Lyon; Local architect: Dominique Berger, Cabinet Berger, Saint-Étienne; Structure : Werner Sobek + Thomas Winterstetter, WSI, Stuttgart/New York; Engineering: Fréderique Binvignat + Christian Desquiens, BETOM Ingénierie, Corbas; Climate engineering: Matthias Schuler + Arnaud Billard, Transsolar, Stuttgart/New York; Economy: Pierre Dumond + Alain Baland, Cyprium, Lyon; Acoustics: Richard Denayrou + Emily Morin, Altia Acoustique, Paris; Scenography: Gérard Fleury , Architecture & Technique, Paris; Lighting: Andy Sedgwick + Jeff Shaw, Ove Arup, London; Landscape architecture: Clément Willemin + Frank Poirier, BASE, Paris; Communication design: Andreas Schneider, IIDj, Tokyo; Philosophy: Joseph Hanimann, Paris
Surface net: 21 140m²
Dates: competition march to june 2004, realisation 2006 to 2009
Costs: 41,5 Mio €

Cite: Cilento , Karen. "Cite du Design / LIN Architects" 29 Dec 2009. ArchDaily. Accessed 19 Jun 2013. <http://www.archdaily.com/45071>

9 comments

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    Very clean and simple project. Nothing too much there. I especially like the design of the stripped-down observation tower! Great.

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  5. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    It surprises me that in the renaissance of modern architecture no one has really picked up the use of the hexagonal grid. We see lots of workmanlike linear architecture but precious little that looks to Wright, Fuller, or Lautner.

    This project doesn’t really use the hexagonal grid to the full extent of its possibility. However, this use is far more than simply decorative. This skin feels rather alive, like the scales of a fish or snake.

    In particular I love how this building fits into the French notion of futurism, what I have come to think of as Barbarella modernism. These kinds of buildings certainly do give the nation a relentlessly modern flair. They bolster the French reputation for innovative infrastructure without being overly provocative.

    Of course, the French are at their best (and worst) exactly when they are being overly provocative. This kind of building is not the Tour de Eiffel or the Centre Pompidou. I can’t help loving what it is (a great warehouse) while wishing it was something more.

    Terry Glenn Phipps
    http://www.facebook.com/tgpart

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