Caen (14)
The building, like a large ship, is staged. It can be seen from afar and opens up views and perspectives on the city and the canals. Its architecture, respectful of the soul of the place, makes it a new landmark of this new city centre district which is integrated into the local urban fabric.
Its design enhances the site with simplicity and dialogue with its environment. Our approach is based on a renewed and purified vision of form as well as on a taste for simple materials, nobly treated. Its facades in light-coloured hammered zinc capture the light and offer a sensitive aesthetic thanks to their play of reflections. In a concern for respect for the site and sobriety, the base of the building, which is part of a former industrial district, is built of local reused brick. Elevated, the project is thus discreetly freed from its constraints, from the risks of flooding but also from those of the car park, which is hidden on the ground floor and treated according to an aesthetic borrowed from moucharabiehs.
The entrance to the building gives a feeling of height and grandeur. It opens directly onto a reception hall and a vertical street, a naturally ventilated bioclimatic space. Light flows through both horizontally and vertically. The two wings of the building are connected by three wooden frame walkways whose maritime architecture evokes the inverted hull of a boat, stays and nets. They allow the play of shadows, light and perspectives between the different levels.
