At the heart of the urban renewal of the Orgeval district in Reims, that is a worn-down sixties housing estate area with its problematics, the building opens up on a new large plaza and three different streets, while being largely contiguous to a housing and service block.
The programme of this competition, won in 2008 by Hamonic + Masson & Associés architects, was to reconstruct the Marne departmental archives annexe, situated in the French city of Reims. The new construction is located opposite the old building, and the project was completed and delivered by Hamonic + Masson & Associés in 2014. The aim was to turn the building in to a modern history research hub and a regional information centre, whilst expanding the linear archival storage space from 7km to 18km.
The project context is based on experimentation, and initiated by the public housing council of Reims (HLM – l’Effort Rémois) – in a subdivision of 63 lots with heavy economic constraints.
La Maison-vague uses vegetation for its architectural and environmental qualities, particularly in terms of thermal insulation. A fully vegetated shell protects the interior from summer heat and winter cold. The basic form is to encapsulate within a single mat of vegetation that undulates and floats above the ground, at sitting height (the rim surrounding the wooden shelf is kind of a big bench). The traditional relationship between house and garden is changed, disturbed even, the project encompasses both in the same construction.
Article source: Hyoung-Gul Kook, Ali Momeni and Robin Meier
The fold, as a multi-layered metaphor for the relationship between mind and matter, inspires plis/replis. The installation is made up of a highly geometric, folded and suspended structure that amplifies the experiences and metaphors of champagne. The primary structure, a 10 x 10 x 12m cone suspended in a pyramid, underground cave (a “crayères”) – one of the largest crayères of Vranken-Pommery’s 18km long underground system of corridors and caves dating back to Roman times. This architectural augmentation of the space also serves as a functional loud speaker. A glass platform suspended at the focal point within the cone holds a vessel filled with champagne. Using the actual sounds of effervescence picked up by a special microphone immersed in the champagne vessel, a real-time analysis/synthesis audio system creates a continually evolving sound environment, diffused downward from above.
Image Courtesy Hyoung-Gul Kook, Ali Momeni and Robin Meier
Architects: Hyoung-Gul Kook, Ali Momeni and Robin Meier
Project: ‘La Fabrique Sonore’ Exhibition
Location: Reims, France
Curated by: Claire Staebler and Charles Carcopino for Vranken Pommery Monopole, Reims, France