A6A . photos: © Rory Gardiner
L’Atelier, the term refers to manual work, the artisanal approach and the notion of pleasure that the agency tries to instill in each of its projects. In old French the word “astelier” meant both a pile of wood and a construction site, it echoes the work of the material and its implementation as a process of manufacturing the project.
The premises we have invested in is a former modeler’s workshop, an ancient profession which consisted of manufacturing prototypes of all kinds, models, based on an object or drawings of this object. Out of respect for the place, the street sign with the name of the former owner has been preserved. We found many resonances with our approach to the profession in this space, an ideal place to realize our vision of architecture.
Due to its three-part composition: a garage on the street, a garden between four walls and a shed in the heart of the block, the whole thing lent itself perfectly to our agency project. We wanted to design a place for experimentation and meeting, which leaves room for manual work and research. A place where there is no distinction between nature and architecture, a timeless intervention in an existing building that we will never tire of over time.
The old shed in ruins had a diamond shape where only the four peripheral walls and the metal frame could be preserved. We came to open a wall to create the entrance door, with a height of 3.50, a value which was borrowed from the existing opening onto the patio and which will define a sky line within this space.
The interior organization was coordinated in such a way as to maintain a complete perception of the volume, only the meeting rooms and toilets form closed spaces. The metal trusses on the ceiling structure the new installations, each element responds in such a way as to form visual continuities throughout.
Three materials dominate the project: the concrete on the floor recalls the tectonics of the mass, the birch plywood fittings evoke the growth of wood and the acoustic flocking on the ceiling refers to a more celestial dimension.
Each of its materials was used for its structural characteristics and their ability to do certain work ourselves: we formed and poured concrete, partly sanded the slab and entirely manufactured all the fittings in wood.
We have ensured that this workshop is as self-reliant energy-wise as possible and frees itself from air conditioning, fossil fuels and any technological system that is too cumbersome. Heating of the whole is provided by a pellet stove, ceiling fans allow the heat to be distributed in winter and the air to circulate in summer.
A large glass roof on the roof provides overhead light throughout the year, it is protected by an exterior blind which regulates solar gain. The south side of the roof accommodates photovoltaic panels for self-consumption production which covers the agency’s needs.
The existing building was very strongly insulated with wood wool on the periphery and on the roof, which, coupled with the Fermacell linings and the concrete slab on the ground, ensure very good thermal inertia. Small windows to the south and west allow natural ventilation through once the large windows onto the garden to the north are opened.
We intend that when a person enters this premises they have a spatial journey which reflects the philosophy of the agency, that while walking they have the time to experience the place which is revealed little by little. From the public space, three sequences punctuate this movement: the crossing garage, then the lush garden and finally the work workshop.
On the street you can only see a large raw steel door that we rebuilt while keeping the cutouts of the old wooden door. You must open a heavy door to enter the garage which also serves as a model workshop and materials library. The floor is sanded limestone concrete, an element that will be found in each space of the project. The clinker walls recall the proximity of the station, a long birch storage wall directs us towards the patio. A large curtain structures the room and gives movement as soon as the door opens and closes. In response to the existing sign, the old wooden sliding doors which separate the garage from the garden are retained.
The garden appears like a haven in the middle of the city, a plant explosion which owes a lot to its original configuration and which we have come to amplify by integrating ground covers and shade plants with a tropical look. On the ground, existing paving stones sit alongside newer ones from salvage. A wooden decking leads to the entrance to the workshop: a high pivoted glass door which responds to two large pocket sliding doors. The joinery with minimalist frames blurs the boundaries with the interior. The new terrace extends the interior space with continuity of material on the ground and a width modeled on the existing opening.
Once in the workshop our gaze is focused on the ceiling, the volume has a very generous height, the glass roof on the north side of the roof diffuses homogeneous light throughout the space. The metal angle frame was consolidated and painted white in order to better appreciate the finesse of its composition, the air fans blend into these elements as do the light fixtures suspended from the taut lines. In the entrance there is a large counter made up of two raw steel plates which have been embedded in concrete cheeks whose hammered surface is reminiscent of rock.
On one side we have the library which integrates the technical elements and the stove, and on the other the mezzanine with the few closed rooms. In the middle of the whole are two desks whose cutouts respond to the lines of the side elements, to a general pattern perceptible in each alignment. The workspaces are designed to accommodate two people side by side to allow for pair work and to ramp up newcomers.
The mezzanine floor accommodates a few workstations, a lounge and a meeting table with a more intimate character. The closed volume is detached from the walls, on one side we can see the staircase and on the other is the kitchen. On its main side, all the glass doors open, they are made of steel frames placed on a pivot, so there is no single point of entry into the rooms and some frames reveal, through the glass, alcoves with multiple uses.
In this project, every detail was granted multiple conversations, time for discussions with craftsmen, on-site tests, “failed” elements and other much more convincing ones. The making of the place was an experience as strong as its use, where the modularity and reversibility will in turn allow it to have new lives.
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