Constructing H on the Maison de l’Économie Pessac College Campus / Marjan Hessamfar & Joe Vérons architectes associés

“Constructing H” is without doubt one of the most emblematic initiatives of the “Opération Campus”, a program initiated by the College of Bordeaux to extend the worldwide visibility of the college campus and create real residing environments.

Situated on the coronary heart of a cluster of educational buildings, it contains three purposeful entities: the Maison de l’Économie, with its analysis and coaching services primarily designed for economics lecturers, researchers and postgraduate college students; the executive places of work of the Legislation/Political Sciences and Economics/Administration schools; and shared campus services together with a lecture theatre with over 200 seats.

The constructing’s understated, rational architectural type units up an acceptable dialogue with its constructed setting and the encircling panorama. To offer it a extra human scale, we opted for sequenced massing comprising three distinct blocks whose form and peak are designed to softly and harmoniously echo these of the encircling buildings.

Framed views of the panorama are an integral a part of the design. Designed to protect as lots of the current bushes as doable, the constructing maintains visible and bodily connections with the encircling wooded panorama. Massive home windows on the south façade afford views of the treetops. Patios and terraces on numerous ranges present “respiration areas” the place customers can loosen up and mingle. The principle entrance on the heart of the façade takes the type of a generously glazed hole that makes it doable to see by means of the whole constructing and maintains a visible relationship with the bushes on the south esplanade.

Designed to deal with ecological challenges, the challenge meets the necessities for “NF HQE” certification (tertiary buildings) and Stage 1 of the “Bâtiment Biosourcé” label. Bio-sourced supplies, particularly wooden, have been used wherever doable: timber façade framework and exterior façade insulation, i
nside lining and wooden wool partitions, linoleum flooring, timber-clad partitions and ceiling for the lecture theatre, wood inside doorways and wood decks for the terraces.

As a way to make full use of its bioclimatic properties and restrict warmth loss by means of the envelope, the constructing is compact, extremely insulated, and hermetic. Along with the hermetic façades, summer time and winter temperature management is strengthened by followers within the places of work and school rooms. As well as, openable home windows within the places of work and circulation areas present thorough air flow for cooling at evening.

The constructing additionally has an “lively slab” heating system the place warmth from the ground and ceiling is distributed from the structural concrete slabs. Totally different areas of the constructing have been decided in keeping with their exposition, permitting warmth to be managed independently the place wanted to make sure that temperature is uniform all through the constructing. Along with the lively slab heating system, there are radiant heating panels suspended from the ceiling permitting particular person temperature management based mostly on the extent of warmth supplied by the lively slab (every consumer can enhance the temperature of their workplace by two levels).

Excessive-density wooden wool insulation used for the outside façade supplies a major thermal part shift that delays the arrival of thermal waves contained in the constructing, whereas concrete used for the inside supplies passive cooling.

Designed to be sturdy, comfy, and upgradeable, Constructing H has a concrete post-and-beam construction based mostly on a strict grid, offering a excessive diploma of modularity and purposeful reversibility. Equally, the ground plans comply with a 1.2-meter grid all through the constructing, facilitating future purposeful permutations, relocations or extensions.

The façades, designed as normal curtain partitions, are made up of a vertical complicated working in entrance of the concrete flooring, offering quite a lot of freedom when it comes to the place and measurement of the home windows. They comply with the identical grid all through the constructing with the intention to provide most adaptability.

Fabricated from three predominant supplies—pale concrete, steel, and glass—, the façades kind a uniform architectural entire. They’re confronted with horizontal and vertical concrete slats (standing pleased with the façade itself to permit water to empty off and to make it doable to scrub the home windows from the within) behind which alternate glazed sections and unglazed sections (that are clad in anthracite thermo-painted steel).

These slats are designed to supply efficient safety from daylight coming from the south, east, and west. On the bottom flooring, in addition they kind a sheltered walkway alongside the longer term promenade parallel with the tramway on the esplanade. Sunshades with adjustable slats and protecting glass present extra safety from exterior wa
rmth and guarantee optimum inside consolation.

General structure serving high quality of use. The sequenced massing makes the completely different applications simply legible and permits every part to operate independently. Representing the principal purposeful hub, each for its revolutionary analysis actions and for its visibility from exterior the campus, the Maison de l’Économie takes place within the tallest part (4 tales) in the course of the constructing.

The three-floor part west of it homes the executive places of work and school rooms. The 2-floor part on the northeast nook going through the political sciences constructing homes the IT rooms, the VIA Inno* facility, and repair areas.

The inside areas are laid out round three giant patios bringing pure gentle into the guts of every part and into the circulation areas on every flooring. The partitions between the places of work and circulations have glazed frames, offering each pure gentle and visible transparency. The sunshine-filled inside lends itself to work and well-being, highlighted by the pale colours used for the inside end.