Terracotta cladding in Le Trèfle | Terreal

What if diversity resulted in unity? That’s the principle idea behind the plan for the Îlot Garot office and business center in Laval. A building combining offices and businesses, located between the railway station and a residential street, right in the center of town. The place used to be a real heat sieve, very uncomfortable for users and was in need of complete renovation.

The answer provided by the Vasconi firm of architects was to ensure the new HEQ building fitted into its environment as much as possible, so local residents would completely accept it as their own at first glance and passers-by would sense the continuity of the neighborhood. Terreal cladding equivalent Piterak Slim in several colors was used as a rainscreen façade system in the renovation project.

Terreal Terracotta Rainscreen Cladding

Leaving no stone unturned, the architects rigorously analyzed the colors, materials, and shapes in the surrounding area, before designing this complex. In collaboration with Terreal, they placed samples of the planned glazing and rainscreen cladding side-by-side to observe them in daylight, first in the fresh, white light of morning, and then in the soft, shimmering evening light. As a result of these experiments, they made different choices for each part of the façades and even for each side of the building.

From the outside, therefore, the observer thinks they are looking at three separate buildings, with different shades, window sizes, and materials. While on the inside, users benefit from complete continuity in terms of atmosphere and flow within a single building. The actual shape of the building is contrasted too: the top floor has a sloped appearance, reminiscent of the attics typical of the region’s architecture and providing continuity with the adjacent hotel on the station side of the building.

Terreal rainscreen cladding was selected for this project in four different colors, found on many buildings elsewhere in Laval: Stone and clay grey on the side facing the street, shades that are much used in residential architecture. Glossy glazed white and glazed grey on the side opposite the station, for a more “high tech” look. This modernity effect was accentuated by the rainscreen cladding’s 30x120 format and the detailed layout that pixelates and enlivens the façade with the fewest openings.

Why Terreal Terracotta Cladding Façade?

Architects took a long time selecting, combining and arranging materials, forms, and colors. This essential work is the overall effect of all these little details that make the difference. Terracotta was a must, because of the possibilities it presents as regards color and format, but also, and above all, because of its easy adaptation to residential architecture. It offers the concrete expression of modernity and authenticity. Moreover, clay is a pure, living, eco-friendly, long-lasting material that always stays clean. Buildings made with terracotta that are over a hundred years old still look just as beautiful, they age well.

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