For this project located on the Foirail square (lifestock fair) in Laguiole, we suggested a hall, a structure that can accommodate a complex program. Taking a strong stance on radical architecture, avoiding the regionalist pastiche with which we’re uncomfortable, we won the competition. The whole community of communes Aubrac Carladez Viadène came together to set up and support an ambitious program. Within this building, a music school, a media library, a nursery and offices would be coexisting.
From a sustainability point of view, this building would also have to be adaptable enough to meet different future needs. This project consists of a “machine building”, capable of reconfiguring itself infinitely. This strong intention requires the different users to discuss beforehand the different surfaces that will be allotted to them in order to maintain a global harmony within a strict grid.
A 5m x 5m wooden post-and-beam structure will be installed, capable of all configurations and reconfigurations which we will fill with glazed modules, folding bays, windows, automated louvres, and 2 motorized opening roofs allowing the patios to be used throughout the year in this mountain climate. This impression of a “machine building” is further reinforced by a set of mechanisms allowing the building to self-regulate automatically, by opening up during the night, taking advantage of the ambient coolness.
All the different pipes and networks have been left visible to be easily and rapidly changeable in the future. This project showcases the agency’s approach. It is the result of thoughtful mechanisms and parameters, chosen and negotiated by and with a project team. It was drawn gradually, spontaneously, in motion as smooth as automatic writing. It is neither the result of a drawing nor the result of architectural inspiration.
