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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Congress Center in Troyes, France by Linazasoro & Sánchez ArchitectureJanuary 11th, 2018 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Linazasoro & Sánchez Architecture This is a very complex project due to its extensive program and its location in the very historical center of the city of Troyes. The program consists of offices, a state committee plenary hall, a multipurpose room, other smaller committee rooms, and an 800-seat auditorium linked to the congress center area.  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe
 Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla The building takes up the space previously occupied by medieval gothic houses that were torn down through changes that have affected the area in recent times, starting with the destruction of an old monastery during the Revolution. In its place the Prefecture building was erected and, most recently, the Council Department building whose extension is the aim of the project.  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe The trace left by the destruction of the gothic houses between rue Charles Gros and rue Perdu was a huge wound in an otherwise well-preserved urban core. There existed the risk to increase the impact on the city image by carrying out a very compact project, so one of the main decisions was to implement a very fragmented one, restoring the former image of the place, not literally, but through the understanding of the scale of the disappeared constructions and the historical center as a whole.  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe A thorough urban analysis of the city was therefore arranged in order to have a deeper knowledge of its scale and of some precise references. This way it was possible to verify the solid integration that existed between gothic churches, perceived as great urban monuments, and the residential urban fabric, mainly made up of the abovementioned gothic houses. This fact inspired a possible relation between some of the most monumental elements of the project, such as the auditorium and the office program, and its smaller scaled parts. Other interesting aspects of the city identified in the analysis were the extensive timber structures of the homes and the way these structures were in many cases supported by stone walls. A very important conclusion was the necessity to restore the disappeared urban fabric under scale and fragmentation principles that enabled it to be assimilated into the existing urban settlement. This approach was intended under contemporary architectural values, without literally implementing ‘old’ architecture elements. Very important references were drawn from post-war reconstructions in Germany and Italy and, particularly, from some of their finest architects, among whom were Franco Albini and Rudolf Schwarz. Therefore two basic materials were selected for the new façades: exposed reinforced concrete and wood.  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe The resulting building structure can be then understood as a ‘narrative’ one, made up of outer and inner episodes. On the outside the complex resembles a small neighborhood between rue Charles Gros and rue Perdu, around which a small plaza links the existing Council Department building to the new extension. The link between the existing and the new building is achieved through a set of elevated walkways under a monumental baldacchino also serving as a symbolic gate to access rue Perdu and containing stained glass (inspired by the Troyes heritage) designed by the artist Flavie Serrière-Petit. Along the itineraries of rue Perdu and rue Charles Gros the administrative building and the auditorium are articulated. The building also looks onto the outer public spaces, such as Place de la Libèration, to which it presents a more public and monumental appearance that corresponds to the multipurpose room on the inside. Its solid wooden structure is supported by concrete porticoes also presenting a monumental image on the outside, but still not standing out in the residential homes complex, whose height is matched by the new building.  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe On the inside there is also an itinerary that articulates the main spaces on the ground floor as a sequence: garden-patio between the new building and the adjacent homes, the offices foyer, a transversal street that separates the administrative building and the auditorium, the auditorium foyer and the auditorium itself. Inside the auditorium building there is also a narrative sequence vertically happening in different levels and creating a very dynamic space that is opened to the exterior through the cafeteria bow-windows. The multipurpose room, unlike the rest of the spaces, presents an exposed wooden structure on the inside, linking the space to the outside plaza and making it different from the rest of the building. The rest of the spaces have a different inner character, mainly clad with ‘softer’ materials contrasting with the rougher outer façades.  Image Courtesy © Roland Halbe  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla The state committee plenary hall is located on the top floor of the administrative building and presents a plaster-cladded light structure on the inside, a ‘velarium-like’ covering over the parliamentary forum. On the outside it emerges as a separate volume facing rue Charles Gros. From this hall and from other interior patios of the building the city roofs and some of its main monuments can be sighted.  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla  Image Courtesy © Javier Callejas Sevilla  Image Courtesy © Linazasoro & Sánchez Architecture  Image Courtesy © Linazasoro & Sánchez Architecture  Image Courtesy © Linazasoro & Sánchez Architecture  Image Courtesy © Linazasoro & Sánchez Architecture  Image Courtesy © Linazasoro & Sánchez Architecture  Image Courtesy © Linazasoro & Sánchez Architecture  Image Courtesy © Linazasoro & Sánchez Architecture
Categories: Auditorium, Hall, Office Building, Offices |
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