New Cultural Center of Meudon-la-Forêt
Prize-winner
of the competition for the new cultural center of Meudon-la-Forêt, Serero
Architects has designed a building wrapped by an organic concrete shell. Windows derived from tree canopyThe
project is inspired by nature and more specifically by the tree, not in its
simple symbolic shape, but in its deep link with architecture: in the relationship
between structure and envelope, between redundancy and optimization, strength
and fragility. The interaction between the surrounding natural space and the
minimalist volumes of the existing buildings conceived by the architect F. Pouillon
influenced the main trajectory of our approach. The building follows the
orthogonal grid of the district while developing a close connection with the
ground space. The project is organized around a central nucleus created by a
theater of 300 seats. Its peripheral envelope is lifted above the hall to
reveal the inside spaces and circulation. Trapezoidal windows are placed on the
whole surrounding of the building avoiding the traditional "black
box" effect of a theater located in the middle of an urban environment. In
opposition with the unique window used by F. Pouillon for all the housing of
the district, we conceived a system of free formed windows, the geometry of
which is derived from the canopy of trees.
Centralize spaces without closing them
Our
purpose is to create a place of a remarkable quality; on the one hand it opens
on the surrounding urban context and on the other hand has a strong identity.
The periphery of the building is composed of two levels with reception and
meeting spaces, the ground floor, offices, and art studios upstairs. This
project is conceived from the inside out, resulting in the manipulation of the
ground and the roof which delimit spaces. The building is cantilevers above the
reception hall, the square allowing to protect a large glazed surface from the
sun and rain.
Studio spaces flooded with natural light
All the spaces of circulation and reception are widely
bathed in natural light, either by the curtain wall of the reception hall, or
by the sheds on the roof of the studios, which play an important role in the
definition of the spaces inside the building. The variation in the size of wall
aperture and windows gives a quality of
foliage to the bright atmosphere. Illumination inside the main hall changes
throughout the day. At the end of the day, lamps installed in these sheds,
which are connected to photosensitive cells, will compensate gradually for the
lack of natural light. Offices and working spaces are lit by multiple window
apertures of free forms which allow every work space to have one or two views
of the outdoor and landscaped spaces.
An intelligent skinThe
building is clad in an architectonic skin of white concrete which will
integrate bits of gravel and limestone of Meudon in its composition. Conceived
as a performative skin, the roof is an important element of this project and
integrates devices for controlling the internal light and thermal atmosphere of
the building. On the south side of the slopped roof, photovoltaic panels will
be installed to harvest part of the electrical energy consumed by the building.