Université de Technologie de Compiègne (UTC)

66, Avenue de Landshut, Compiègne, France

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Université de Technologie de Compiègne (UTC)

66, Avenue de Landshut, Compiègne, France

Firm

Ameller Dubois & Associés

Type

Educational › University

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2014

SIZE

100,000 sqft - 300,000 sqft

BUDGET

$5M - 10M

Photos

Frédéric Allinne (8), Noëlle Hoeppe (4), ristophe Hecquet (3)

The UTC (Université de Technologie de Compiègne) building is designed as a three-level open plan. Its façades are clad with wooden panels providing solar shading, opacities or simple window frames, according to the needs and orientations. Its outdoor terraces and interiors in double-height provide places for relaxation which are well integrated into the composition, and provide a homogeneous figure strengthening the identity and legibility of an equipment with very diverse functions.

The East-West orientation of the parallelepiped is adapted to the prevailing winds. On the northern side of the building, the transparency of the glass, allows a view on the park and good lighting for the laboratories. On the southern, eastern and western sides of the building, the sunshades are adjustable for offices and fixed for the classrooms and the research laboratory in muscle mechanics. This results in a genuine bioclimatic façade.The implementation of randomly placed open panels, closed or ajar, along with the strict repetition of the carrier grid, enrich the architectural language while avoiding a trivialized reading of a mere office building.

The implementation of simple principles and common sense, combined with advanced techniques, delivers a sensible response to environmental issues, and to provide a meaningful identity to the facilities.

With transparencies and large windows on the ground floor, the access and showroom are highlighted, emphasizing the building's purpose as technological showcase and innovation center. The showroom, located in the Southeast corner, presents itself to the visitors at the entrance, widely opened on the park across the hall.

On the West side, the project is apt to extend itself with additional industrial halls, easily accessible by the southern common circulation along the access way.

A 14-ton suspended staircase seams the three levels of the woodden multiporpose building with dark iron, softened by the light tones of beech.

Photos by F. Allinne / N. Hoeppe / J.-C. Hecquet