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.
Maison De La Culture De La Province De Namur in Belgium by Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS sprl, architects & engineers
April 18th, 2019 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS sprl, architects & engineers
The Building
This cultural centre sits in the centre of Namur, on the north bank of the Sambre River, facing the historic centre of the town known as “Le Grognon”. Designed by Victor Bourgeois and built at the start of the 1960s, the building required renovation and extension to meet the current requirements of local people and to accommodate the redevelopment of the rue des Bouchers and the banks of the Sambre River.
The building used to consist of a 400-seater theatre at one end of a rectangular box-shaped space on four levels with a south-facing curtain wall (looking over the Sambre River) built up against a curved rectangular box-shaped space on five levels, known as the “croissant”, which has an east-facing curtain wall and a south-facing end wall which has no openings.
The project shall preserve the existing construction (with the exception of the small buildings annexed to the backstage area and at the site’s north-west corner).
One intermediate mezzanine was added into the foyer of the 450-seater main theatre, as well as an additional level on top of the “croissant” (level 4), with extensions to accommodate the functionality required.
These additions shall include, to the east of the building in front of the “croissant”, the “prow cylinder” comprising the reception porch, and significant extensions to the north-east of the building.
The redeveloped building shall thus include:
Next to the redeveloped rue des Bouchers (level 1):
the main balcony for the 450 to 600-seater theatre,
the 120 to 150-seater theatre in the “prow cylinder” (violet) and
its foyer (blue) with the performers’ dressing rooms (grey),
the multimedia library, classrooms and creative workshop (light green),
the caretaker’s room on the west side (grey).
the visual connection with the large wall overlooking the right bank of the Sambre river, to the north of the confluence between the Sambre and Meuse rivers (Le Grognon),
the “Porte d’Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse” (with its glazed canopy, not built) welcomes those arriving by boat,
the building’s facade with its shops, restaurant and terrace,
the entrance for VIPs, performers and personnel,
the pedestrian connections to Le Grognon via the France and Musée bridges.
The project thus directs the appeal of the building’s south-facing facade to the rue des Bouchers, starting from the discrete access door for heavy goods deliveries at the courtyard at the most westerly point.
On avenue Golenvaux, the new cylindrical space sitting on a foot creates the “prow” of the building and produces a focus for the building and for traffic and pedestrian flows around it. When viewed from Boulevard Brunell, the cylinder sets off the curve of the Victor Bourgeois building which, with its raised elevation, now has a certain majesty.
Microclimates
Cenaero combined GIS (Geographic Information Systems) with CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation tools and with a 3D modelling of the project to study the microclimates in and around the building. The findings of the study confirmed that it was possible:
1) to rely, for much of the time, on natural ventilation for the buildings,
2) to be confident regarding the comfort of the climatic conditions in areas around the entrances to the building and on the rue des Bouchers.
Although the reliance on natural ventilation and lighting is perfectly possible in a favourable urban environment, the environmental conditions within towns (odours, noise, dust, dirt on floors and walls, overheating, shading) has gradually and very visibly deteriorated. Buildings have increasingly been constructed so to protect them from this hostile environment, becoming “boxes” sealed off from these physical attacks and, as a result, closed off from their surroundings.
The centre of Namur, which is well ventilated due to its topography and rivers, is fortunate in that it does not suffer from these disadvantages. It is thus possible to return to more sensible practices, and to open up the building to its environment.
Since they are sheltered from sources of noise, the main 450-seaters theatre rooflights, necessary for both smoke exhaust and natural daylight, can also be used for natural ventilation, along with opening windows.
Louvres fitted vertically on east, and horizontal blinds
on other orientations, are used to adjust the degree of natural illumination through the facades, and to provide shading.
Light wells shall provide natural illumination for the stages in the three theatres.
Performance levels
Some of the key considerations in this study have been: respect for the cultural heritage, the integration of existing artworks, fire safety, problem-free disabled access (Access-i certification), and respect for the environment (Breeam certification in progress).
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