Cultural Center Paul Eluard

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Cultural Center Paul Eluard

Firm

Off Architecture

SIZE

500,000 sqft - 1,000,000 sqft

BUDGET

$5M - 10M

Cugnaux is a low density city that has an iconic historical downtown near byToulouse. Its urban network is suffering: the streets are unorganised, the shopping areas andservices are split, the public spaces are useless and inappropriate…The impact of the project had to be strong and radiate beyond the limits of Cugnaux, until thecrown of Toulouse.It had to be a symbolic regional place for cultural exchanges and initiate an urban renewalfor the city. But at the same time, the project should not break the scale of theneighbourhood - mainly consisting of a low density suburban fabric entangled in a densevegetation.We developed a high and compact building (36mx36mx18m) that can be seen from all overthe city. Indeed, it can be seen, located, identified from far and interacts with the old citychurch’s bell.A movement on the ground floor organizes all outdoor and public spaces around theproject. Thereby, a quality green landscaped park offers undulating hills to shelter actual orpotential programs such as the parking or any garage sale, outside lounge, picnic... On theother hand, the vegetal canopy helps to break and adapt the scale of the building to thesurroundings : the thin and long stems trees frame its height.The main entrance of the building is served by a public square. It establishes a strong linkbetween the building and the city and naturally leads the public to the lobby. Therefore,located on the ground floor, the spacious glazed hall is like an extension of the courtallowing a smooth flow of circulations. A “summer open position” creates a large lobby opento the outside, blurring even more the limits between interior and exterior.The square focuses Francazal Avenue, which is the main road from the downtown, andextends until the limits of the car park to facilitate the flow of motorized users.The general organisation of the project is functional: it consists of stacking simpleprograms-volumes. The building is designed as a very compact object punctuated to itscenter by a patio that spans three levels, bringing light and comfort.All the vertical circulations of the building are organized in a central core accessible from themain lobby.Four lifts serve the different levels. Two are dedicated to the public whereas the otherssecure an access to the staff. Thus, the flows of people are clearly identified and facilitateprofessional circulations between different poles: the showroom, the mainvenue/amphitheater, the municipal archives, the school of art education, the library, thecultural services and the technical rooms. The overall distribution of the programs allowseach of the spaces to operate according to its own timetable and use.The main amphitheatre, directly accessible from the lobby, accommodates from 400 seats to1000 standing people. Its arrangement offers the public the best conditions of visibility andlistening. The use of mobile benches allows flexibility and mixity of events : fairs,challenging, banquets dancing...Moreover, the room can also be open on the outer northeastfacade for concerts and festival events.Finally, the facade is part of the whole concept. It is both a protective mesh and a remarkableexternal sign: it is a woven wooden skin that plays with different densities an scales for anoptimal filtering effect based on thermal, visual and ambient qualities for each program. Itprovides a strong aesthetic that destroys the traditional perception of a building in terms ofscale and is more concerned with developing the idea of an abstract urban signal. Thisorganised-mess envelope blurs the traditional limits and design of a building that weusually get.OFF Architecture.

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Cultural Center Paul Eluard

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Cultural Center Paul Eluard

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Cultural Center Paul Eluard

Other Projects by Off Architecture

CARTON

BERING PROJECT

BUFFER SPACE

Cultural Center Paul Eluard

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team