EDF Archives Centre
A strategic project providing a social
and environmental positive impact on
the region. The building fully integrates
into the landscape as well as it meets
environmental quality standards, a
fundamental aspect for the EDF’s building
strategy.
This building, symbol of the long term
and visible presence of EDF in the
Meuse and Haute Marne region, hosts
the company’s industrial records.
Within the framework of the Meuse
and Haute Marne economic support
programme, EDF has decided
to centralise all its intermediary
Engineering Production Management
archives in Bure-Saudron.
Until now, these paper copy archives
had been stored in nuclear, hydraulic
and thermal production units, as well
as in engineering units and associated
services.
The new centre allows the documents’
organisation and it also ameliorates the
storage and the utilisation processes.
These archives, on paper-based and
microfilm-based formats, will occupy
about 70 km of shelves.
The building has also a laboratory for
micro-films, specifically designed for
this purpose.
The concept.
We realised a five level, 19 m high
building within a plot of 3.30 hectares
comprehensive of an archives area covering approximately 1,400 m² and a
total surface of approximately 7,000 m².
This approach results in:
- considerable saving in terms of the building’s envelope
- improved functionality translated by a reduced number of kilometres covered per year,
- a marginal impact on the landscape (with view points at a considerable distance from the building),
- the possibility of a maximum use of the excavated land around the building’s footprint to control water recuperation and treatment on the site,
- an energetically and environmentally extremely high performance building,
- the creation of a symbol representative of the approach taken by the Mouse and Haute Marne economic support programme.
The typology.
An archives storage building needs
to have a considerable inertia with a
minimal exchange with its external
setting. The need for fast and simple
site management and optimum storage
efficiency led us to develop a simple
and rational layout. The building is divided into 2
programmes: archives and offices.
The archives’ part is composed by
20 storehouses of 200 m² each; with
regulated temperature and hygrometry.
The blocks can resist fire for 2 hours
and they are equipped with a sprinkling
system.
The offices’ part is N/W oriented,
embedded in a natural slope planted
with trees and plants. The offices have
an ideal view on the surrounding
landscape.
The landscape
Tree-planted surfaces give some
advantages: from an ecological point
of view the trees protect the building
against climatic issues.
From an aesthetical point of view - and
within an idea of landscape integration
- they complete the building by inserting a pattern recurring from the landscape: the “merlons”, narrow strips of land planted with hardwoods. The project of the landscape foresees the framing of the views from the offices by planting vegetable masses. Some framings already exist from the highway in the project’s direction. A game of sequences is set in combination with the architectural plan in order to vary the visuals and to put an accent on the building’s continuity with its landscape.
The facade
The elevations will incorporate a total
of 120,000 stainless steel studs.
Stainless steel studs (7 cm diameter
and 1 mm thick) will be incorporated
into the formwork during the casting
of the integrally coloured prefabricated
concrete elevation panels.
The panels will be 15.65 m high
and either 2.26 m or 2.33 m wide
depending on whether they are on the
long or short side of the building.
The 8 cm thick panels will be
reinforced with concrete ribbing (+ 7
cm). The complex will be suspended
from reinforced concrete walls and held
in position using distancing jacks. The
elevations will have a total thickness of
68 cm. The facade’s building process was the subject of a patent.
