Head Offices of Social Security for French Citizen Abroad / BVAU

Architects: BVAU
Area : 3900 m²
Year : 2014
Photographs :Clément Guillaume

Text description provided by the architects. The project settles in an archetypal suburban and contemporary environment of our urban areas borders, so vague and unclear. Yet this place is still inhabited, people live and work there. We do are in town, and in this respect, we take a keen interest in this area.

Components of the projects are dealt with equal attention: an offices building and an outdoor car park, forming a facility with the existing building. We suggest a structure with an abstract, solid and perceptible evenness. The unbroken car park’s ground is made of raw concrete. In addition, we have planted 100 trees in this area. The result is a surprising and minimalist landscape.

The specific properties of the inner spaces are the basis of the connection between the place and its architecture. The building is adorned in its centre by an atrium.

We bring together two opposite types of spaces as well as two temporalities within this project. On the one hand, offices are an integral part of the everyday life. And on the other hand, specific areas with specific purposes create a continuum between the atrium and the townscape: common spaces that are both accessible and visible.

The building defines a logic of use and presence, it is welcoming and pleasant from the outside since it shows itself. Indoors, the available views from the common spaces offer a new perception of the urban environment, glorified by people’s eye. Our architecture offers a contextualised experience.

Headquarters of the CFE is a bioclimatic structure. It has a custom-made façade with a unique design. The lightened and prefabricated façade is made of an openable double skin glass covering wood for the inside front, and aluminium for the outside front. The façade is connected through sensors to an automated open/close system and awnings. The façade combined with the atrium allows natural ventilation. Heating and cooling are provided by heating and low-temperature floors, powered by geothermal energy. Global performance is < 50kWh/m2/year.