Article source: Ateliers 2/3/4/

Open on to the city by nature, more than any other, a public building is an urban component. It signifies, invites, brings the city alive. The court plays on the duality between the urban monumentality of a judicial institution and the serenity necessary to handle delicate cases that affect people’s lives. Between stacks of three layers of rock, as stone blocks in a quarry, extends a landscaped oasis that filters the light, tempers the atmosphere and links the areas accessible to the public. The voids qualify the solids: at each level, projections and patios locate between the blocks. The stepped masses encourage the light to enter, creating internal landscapes to protect the premises from any intrusive view. As such, security of the facades and confidentiality are provided with ease.

Image Courtesy © Charly Broyez

• Architects: Ateliers 2/3/4/ (Christine EDEIKINS, Partner)
• Project: Courthouse Béziers (Construction of the new Court House: High Court, County Court, Commercial court, Employment tribunal)
• Location: Béziers, 93, avenue du Président Wilson / 34500 Béziers / France
• Photography: Charly Broyez, WeAreContents
• Client: APIJ (Agence Publique pour l’Immobilier de la Justice)
• Team: Sylvain Rety (Project Manager, competition), Camille Etivant (Project Manager, studies), Louis Gilbert (Project Manager, studies), Franck Tillequin (Lead architect, director of the Montpellier office), Cristina Sanchez (Project Manager, contruction site)
• Consultant Engineer: CET, Frédéric Ménière
• Landscape designer: Tournesol, Francis Farges
• Interior and furniture design: Guliver design, Bruno Tainturier
• SOGEA SUD: General contractor mandatory
• SNEF: Electricity
• Thermatic: Heating, ventilation system, plumbing
• Ground Area: 4 345 m²
• Floor Area: 8 057 m²
• Contract Sum: 16.5M€ excl.VAT (2016)
• Completion: 2016

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