Nantes, La Fabrique Cultural Area, 2005

Nantes, La Fabrique Cultural Area, 2005
studioMilou architecture
www.studiomilou.fr
studioMilou architecture - www.studiomilou.fr
Site plan
View of the La Fabrique shed system
Nantes, La Fabrique Cultural Area, 2005
Sheds and cross-sheds
In response to an ambitious, varied brief that included cultural and
social components, the project proposes a single response in the form
of a series of ‘cross-sheds’ to the existing Dubigeon Sheds, these being
arranged at right angles to the original ones. The façades are composed of pierced alternating sections of Corten steel, asphalted wood and
glass, and vegetation from a hanging garden is allowed to grow through
them.
This design is above all poetic, composing a kind of ‘counter-fugue’
out of the whole network of sheds and cross-sheds that will make up
the future Dubigeon Halls and making it a community area and a
place that has been strengthened and unified as a large central market
area, or Grand Bazaar of the Ile de Nantes. At night, the project will
resemble a glittering copper-coloured lantern.
Preliminary sketches
Façade on avenue Léon Bureau
Nantes, La Fabrique Cultural Area, 2005
studioMilou architecture
www.studiomilou.fr
studioMilou architecture - www.studiomilou.fr
Night view of the Léon Bureau Avenue
View of the entrance of Fabrique in the main shed
Nantes, La Fabrique Cultural Area, 2005
A glittering copper-coloured lantern
The design of sheds set at right angles to the existing galleries creates
a network of interlocking sheds that symbolically opens the
Dubigeon Sheds onto the surrounding area, making the design
resemble a large market open on all sides.This design gives the project the unitary and coherent character that is absolutely necessary if
it is to make a strong statement at the centre of the Ile de Nantes. It
is the unitary character of the project that will allow the public first
to understand and then to take ownership of the project taking shape
at the Dubigeon Sheds.
Ground floor plan
Section
The transparency of the materials used for the façades of the crosssheds allows light to escape at night, making the buildings look as if
there is a fire within them. The way in which the wood and glass
cladding material includes gaps and is peeled back allows the formal
system of the monumental interior volumes to be discerned in brighter light, along with the kinetic movement of the halls. Planted terrace areas open in the evenings are set above the public areas, and the
hanging upper planted areas are lit in a spectacular fashion by projectors installed in the loggias. Finally, a lighting system set into a system
of Corten steel markers around the perimeter of the site means that
the whole is lit in theatrical fashion, assuring the readability of its placement in the urban fabric.