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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. The Doge in Lille, France by Atelier TarabusiJanuary 22nd, 2018 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Atelier Tarabusi Paolo Tarabusi, who graduated from the University of Genoa (Italy) in 1992, is teaching project at the ENSA-PVS (French national school of architecture of Paris Val-de-Seine) and structure analysis at the ENSA-PB (École nationale d’architecture de Paris-Belleville) since 2005. Therefore the buildings created by Atelier Tarabusi, founded by Paolo Tarabusi in Paris in 2006, are designed with a strong commitment to reflecting the constructive truth of any given project.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia
 Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia The site of a project is often key to the choice of its construction materials and methods. According to Paolo Tarabusi, “The consistency to be found in the relationship that a structure bears to its shape will yield the building’s own visual expression and identity.” By not concealing the structure beneath skins and envelopes, the specific features that characterize each unique project are revealed and provide the opportunity for Paolo Tarabusi to offer a design that is at once innovative and thoroughly engineered, whatever the type of building scheme considered.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia This taste for both technique and materiality, that is for instance clearly demonstrated in the design of the Ile Seguin footbridge in Boulogne-Billancourt in association with Marc Barani, lies at the very heart of the works achieved by the Atelier. Most noteworthy examples can be seen in the office buildings erected in Lille as well as in several residential projects such as in St-Jacques des Landes, near Rennes, also in partnership with Marc Barani, in Clichy-sous- Bois or in the sustainable neighborhood “La Bottière Chénaie” in Nantes.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia A skilled expert with a keen eye for beauty and overall design, Paolo Tarabusi fully embraces a realistic approach. He is aware of the financial constraints that are a crucial part of any project, but he sees such constraints as inspiration. “A limited budget may be, among other facets, the lever used to reach unexpected technical anwers, answers that then only need to be proven relevant in terms of architectural design when put face to face with the means alloted.” Architecture relies on this ability to make pertinent choices. “Turning constraint into assets is for me one of the most interesting leads in the way we approach a project”, Paolo says.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia With a constant will to work in active partnership with building contractors, manufacturers and companies, Paolo Tarabusi delivers a restrained, serious and strong architectural style, sparing in its use of means and material. His innate liking for building techniques customized to fit each particular project ensures enduring works that stand the test of time.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia The Doge, a 5,100 square meter office building, intended to welcome young startups, is situated in the joint development zone of Rives de la Haute Deûle in Lille, in the heart of EuraTechnologies. The architectural competition in 2011 imposted a strict limitation, requiring the use of terracotta, historic materials from the immediate surroundings and the region. The structure designed by Atelier Tarabusi, and handed over in 2017, proposes a unexpected, inventive and pertinent architectural approach.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia Just across from the old Le Blan-Lafont factory, the environment is characterized by the presence of large industrial buildings, which are either rehabilitated, or undergoing transformation; and by the small scale strips of workers housing. More recently, urban planning linked to the Haute Deûle joint development zone has introduced a rich array of intermediate-size structures to the area. With a few exceptions, only one material, terracotta, available in various forms, unifies and connects the different volumes, programs and periods, within this urban diversity.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia Eager to offer something other than a brick-clad concrete building, Paolo Tarabusi’s unique design choice was to make use of a line of building elements from “monolithic” terracotta, sorts of onestory high, giant hollow bricks, typically used for farm buildings and individual houses. In collaboration with the manufacturer, and through some minimal adjustments in the production chain, a 33 by 20 by 280-centimeter bricks were designed and produced for this project. 1,500 selfsupporting, bricks, evenly separated by as many glass panes, give the facade its rhythm, its porous appearance, and its both massive and perforated look. An ingenious assembly system allowed to quickly install the dry bricks, with neither mortar nor supporting framework, all in keeping within the project’s economic boundaries.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia Corresponding to the floor-to-floor height of the office area, the facade design is completed by a strip of white prefabricated concrete, at each floor slab edge, evoking the stone integrated into the brickwork in the local traditional architecture.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia Due to their spacing, the bricks produce shadows upon the facade, which keep the buildings from overheating in the summer. The thermic inertia of the concrete floors and the wooden paneling of the inner walls also contribute to user comfort throughout the year, of these “industrial-looking” offices, which are without air conditioning, suspended ceilings, or raised floors. Construction began in January 2016. The first building was handed over in January 2017, the second in June 2017.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia By transforming the use of a building material, in a place where everything seems to have already been said and done, Paolo Tarabusi establishes a link between the building and the history of the site, while still affirming the building’s contemporaneity.  Paolo Tarabusi, Image Courtesy © Atelier Tarabusi  Image Courtesy © Atelier Tarabusi  Image Courtesy © Atelier Tarabusi  Image Courtesy © Atelier Tarabusi  Image Courtesy © Atelier Tarabusi
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