LES HALLES
The project aims to transform a "temple of consumption" (the existing commercial building) into a "cathedral of culture"; not in the sense of replacing one with the other, but taking the best of both.
Within the framework of rehabilitation, the project preserves the qualities of the commercial building - namely, the large surface area it provides and the freedom of layout it offers by the absence of any load-bearing walls or posts over large distances - and provides what is necessary for the proper functioning of a public facility: light, views of the outside, comfort, quality of space and a strong identity.
Only a few masonry walls and the low slab are preserved and, on this base and within this enclosure, a new project is created on the basis of a volumetric device that will transcend all the objectives of the program: a system of shells is set up to be visible beyond the existing walls to reveal and transfigure a new identity to the building. They will thus mark the idea of an in-depth renewal and transformation of the site.
The hulls are all identical; they are just rotated in relation to each other to animate the overall geometry. Each of them is glazed on its highest site to bring natural light at all hours of the day to the heart of the media library and to provide views of the sky, the trees, the church tower, etc. In addition, the multiplication of the shells generates an "egg box" shape that is conducive to the acoustic improvement of the consultation areas.
A metal frame supports the entire roof, 750 sqm of which is without intermediate supports. An EPDM membrane covers all the roofs and transoms of the aluminum joinery. Steel gargoyles display the rainwater flowing from the gutter network to the surrounding green spaces.
The vast majority of the media library's spaces are open. Thus, under this emblematic cover, the few closed and isolated functions are distributed throughout the vast hall. They are identified as "boxes" that structure the different sectors and spaces. This system makes it possible, without partitioning or artifice, to define spaces on a human scale and conducive to the appropriation of the premises.
These boxes are also subject to making the places even more open. Indeed, the walls are conceived as supports for displays, picture rails, projections and above all shelving in order to free the space of shelving furniture and rather favors the lounges and the circulation between the different thematic poles.
