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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. Lecture Theatres for ‘Universite Descartes’ in Paris, France by AZCSeptember 27th, 2018 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: AZC Context and Challenges This project for two 200-seat lecture theatres and a series of teaching spaces provided the opportunity to effectively transform a courtyard at the centre of a city block. The project reveals the site’s urban potential for its users, neighbours, visitors or passers-by, and responds to a need for simplicity and coherence, with a mix of functional logic and aesthetics.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia
 Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia Project The compact, minimal outline of the new building, the simplicity of its design, the level of finish and choice of materials are all part of giving this courtyard space its own identity, one that references a Parisian barn. The architecture optimises the project’s structural, regulatory and economic restraints. It was necessary to minimise the impact on the existing car park’s infrastructure, so we needed to design an elevated, lightweight volume. The construction method using off-the-shelf components permitted large spans and a number of structural feats. On the south side, the upper section of the theatres cantilevers above the building’s ground floor, freeing the space beneath for an unrestricted layout of classrooms and offices. In order to manage the cost of the project but also because of the constraints of the site, we arranged all the public spaces on the building’s ground floor to ensure their easy access.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia Although it did not originally form part of the brief, we managed to integrate the treatment of the building’s immediate surroundings into the budget, proposing a homogenous timber deck that succeeds in extending the interior spaces out into the courtyard, creating a convivial space. The Interior Design In designing the lecture theatres we looked for the optimum layout, one that would be the most compact in terms of plan and elevation. Each theatre has eight levels of seating with a total of nine rows. The distance between the back of the room and the screen at the front is considerably reduced, giving better visibility and a projection distance of only 14.5m. The steps for the raked seating are 0.90m deep, and each seat is 0.56m wide. The first row is 5m from the board at the front. Persons of reduced mobility are provided with five spaces at the lower level of the room. Horizontal and vertical sightlines are respected. Acoustic comfort is assured by the choice and positioning of internal envelopes of micro-perforated steel and perforated timber panels.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia The theatre envelope is made from sections of steel sheet, with enhanced thermal breathable insulation that has a low thermal conductivity and a thermal phase shift in excess of 12 hours. A highly energy-efficient heat exchanger works to recover energy from the warm air that is extracted, which is transferred to incoming air. This recuperation is complemented by the heat pump. In summer the cycle is reversed for cooling. These types of system are much more energy efficient than traditional heating and cooling systems.  Image Courtesy © Sergio Grazia  Image Courtesy © AZC  Image Courtesy © AZC  Image Courtesy © AZC  Image Courtesy © AZC  Image Courtesy © AZC  Image Courtesy © AZC  Image Courtesy © AZC  Image Courtesy © AZC
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Categories: Courtyard, Educational Center, Hall, Parking, space, Theater |
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