Terracotta Cladding in Las Fonses School | Terreal

Terreal cladding equivalent Piterak Slim, custom glazed in Azur blue clads the facade of Las Fonses school complex. Alternating patterns of voids and solids, and of contrasts and light enable the Villeneuve Tolosane district school complex to assert a strong identity for itself, without jarring with its environment. This T-shaped building in the heart of the new eco-friendly area known as Las Fonsès uses a subtle combination of wood, glass, and terracotta, playing with architectural scale brilliantly to avoid any bulk effect. A design that lends great dynamism to the façade and an impression of lightness, particularly well served by the marriage of the matt wood structure with the shimmering finish of the brick insulating panels.

Terreal Terracotta Rainscreen Cladding

Glazed rainscreen cladding covers 1,000 m² of façade, all in a unique, bespoke shade, developed by the Terreal teams in response to the creativity of the 360° architects in charge of the project: a bright, satin-finish Provençal blue shade, somewhat reminiscent of the traditional Azulejos tiles seen in the Mediterranean basin. The glazed brick on the flat courses standing out from the façade surprises the viewer with its incredible ability to handle light, reflecting it like glass, but also soaking it up. To the extent that the blue boldly takes on every hue and variation over the course of the day and the seasons. From a muted color that’s almost black in stormy weather, to azure when the sky is clear, revealing the full extent of its luminosity.

Why Terreal Terracotta Cladding Façade?

Façade brick’s aesthetic qualities are undeniable and virtually infinite, if you play with module size, shades, textures and the incredible wealth of different types of bonding and assembly methods. Combined with that, there are the material’s long-lasting properties, its resistance over time, no matter the weather, its future patina, etc. Terracotta is fade-resistant, universal and timeless. It can be used in a great variety of expressive forms: in white brick thermal cladding, in a host of beige shades, with rough, hand-molded surfaces, or satin finishes with a colored glaze, etc. For this school project, the goal was to echo local tradition and glazed brick’s strong roots within the region. Building with bricks, in the revived language of terracotta, of course, is a way of affirming the ever-possible evolution of local resources. Terreal's technical team demonstrated great perseverance, priding themselves on meeting the particular requirements of the architects as regards specific glazing of sections, joints, angle cuts, etc.

Project Data