Client : Communauté d’agglomération du Marsan
Architects : archi5 assocated with Borja Huidobro
Program : Construction of a Mediatheque, conference hall. Conception of the furnitures and the signage. Underground car park. Adress : Caserne Bosquet, Mont de Marsan, France
Surface : 4 750 m ²
Photograph : Sergio Grazia, Communauté d’agglomération du Marsan
Engineer, economist : Mizrahi Acoustic
designer : Tisseyre & Associés
The Media Library is a strong cultural symbol for the Marsan urban area. It stands in the middle of the Bosquet barracks, and care has been taken to augment the dialogue with the place’s strong architectural whole.
The building has been designed as a covered cultural square. The grassy incline that surrounds the building draws the eye upwards, then gives way to alternating transparent and reflecting glass facades.
The Media Library’s central location in the military drill yard inspired a building with four main sides, varying from one another by simply adapting to the direction they face.
The interior space on the ground floor is completely open and centres around a patio, the design of which has been inspired by Matisse’s paintings of acanthus leaves, and the volumes of which recall Alvar Aalto’s vases.
The various functions are organised naturally on the open floor space, which maintains visual continuity and diffuses daylight evenly. User intimacy is created by the strong architectural elements that inspire visual interplay.