Rennes: The Latest Architecture and News

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JDS Architects have won the competition to design a new residential tower and mixed-use development in France. Located in Rennes, the project will include new buildings on the Blériot-Féval site to generate an inclusive neighborhood within the Eurorennes development. As the master plan's geographic centerpiece, the new Féval Tower will offer 188 new apartments to the city.

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MVRDV has won a competition to renovate and extend the Palais du Commerce in Rennes, France. Developed in collaboration with co-architects Bernard Desmoulin and developers Frey and Engie Avenue, the transformation of the historic landmark will “signify a renaissance for both the building and its surroundings.”

The MVRDV scheme will reactivate both the Place de la Republique and the Palais, turning a former public building into a centerpiece of the city’s main commercial street as was originally intended. While being respectful to the existing building, the MVRDV proposal adopts a critical approach to its drawbacks, such as transparency and accessibility.

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Architecture photographer Ana Amado has shared with us a set of photographs featuring Álvaro Siza's recently inaugurated Church of Saint-Jacques de la Lande, in Rennes—the first church built in Brittany, France this century.

As in many other Siza buildings, this church is built in white concrete and pays special attention to the natural light, which bathes the altar, tabernacle, pulpit and baptismal font from above. Externally, different volumes—blocks, cylinders and incisions—add to the overall mass of the building, distinguishing it from the neighboring housing blocks, while the use of few openings helps to establish a solid, permanent presence in the natural environment. Check Ana Amado's set of photographs below: 

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A team consisting of MVRDV, ALL + Giboire has won a competition for the project Ilot de l’Octroi, a new residential redevelopment in the city of Rennes, France that will transform the area into a socially adhesive green community along the Ille et Vilaine rivers.

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France-based Tetrarc Architects has revealed their design for the new Conservatory of Rennes in France. Intended to be the cornerstone of a new urban project, the fifty-meter long cubic volume is intersected by “cuts and curves that give it an elegant, sculptural presence.” This cultural facility will bring five programs under one roof, including spaces for musical activities, an auditorium, dance theaters, administration spaces, and an area for the Pont Supérieur Music Department.

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• Architects

  Ricardo Carvalho + Joana Vilhena Arquitectos

• Location

  Douro, 3260 Figueiró dos Vinhos, Portugal

• Design Team

  Joana Vilhena, Ricardo Carvalho, José Roque, José Maria Rhodes Sérgio and Nuno Gaspar

• Structural Consultants

  Multilayer

• Mechanical, Hydraulic and Electricity Consultants

  Multilayer and Sunductil

• Building Contractor

  Figueiredo & Figueiredo Lda.

• Area

  1600.0 sqm

• Project Year

  2012

• Photographs

  Nuno Gaspar

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