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Architects: Brenac & Gonzalez & Associés
- Area: 1953 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Sergio Grazia
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Manufacturers: Lorillard Occitanie, Pyrénées Charpentes
Text description provided by the architects. The key idea of the project and its main variations - The Maison des Services Latécoère is simple, says Xavier Gonzalez: "It is the pavilion in the park, which brings people together, where they want to go. It's like a party pavilion. It's a place to connect.” The tea pavilion typology served as inspiration for this wood-frame design. A hymn to the plasticity of larch and spruce, this low-carbon project is frugal and low-tech. A simple application of RT2012, it has been designed like a Japanese pavilion in a garden, echoing the surrounding park. With this in mind, the choice of wood as the construction material meant that the inherent constraints of wood were taken into account from the outset, without technological subterfuge. Every structural, technical and functional element has its place, and everything is made of wood: beams, posts, floors, joists, terraces, roofing, facade, joinery and sunshades.
Its rectangular shape extends over three levels, from the ground to the second floor. Each level features large terraces with views over the park, which is itself planted with trees. The main body of the building is bordered by these terrace walkways and external staircases, which facilitate fluid distribution. On the second floor, two emergences house the restaurant's mezzanine and reception rooms. The beams extend outwards from the interior to accommodate terraces and balconies. Large bay windows provide generous light. Wooden frames and fixed sunshade elements represent a technical challenge, with their slender height of over three meters. Thermal comfort is ensured by the presence of overhanging terraces on the south and west sides, and a graphic play of moucharabiehs on the east and north facades. The floor edges are made of metal to protect the wood structure from the elements. They continue to run along the stair stringers. They create a rhythm in the facade and embody the fluidity of the site. In the style of Sol Lewitt's paintings, the sunshades break up the built volume, catching all the day's light, according to its rhythm and orientation.
Today, when the spirit of frugality is becoming the order of the day, this is a convincing example. For here, frugality is to be found in the very approach to the project. It's about organizing the transition in a simple, essential way, away from the many prescriptive barriers. The Maison des Services Latécoère shows that this is possible, even in the context of a highly technological company.
Construction system and materials used - Eschewing the CLT model, the floors here are made of LVL panels (+ screed) laid on spruce joists. Acoustic baffles are fitted between these joists. Beams and posts are made of glued laminated spruce. The beams extend from the inside to the outside, accommodating terraces (waterproofed and covered with wood decking) and balconies. The facades feature non-load-bearing timber-frame elements clad with autoclaved clapboard. Wooden frames and fixed brise soleil elements present a technical challenge: a slenderness of over three meters in height. In a virtuous approach to local consumption, Pyrénées Charpentes produced the timber frame, while Agence Lorillard Occitanie supplied the 222 wooden joinery units.
