The project by Ateliers O-S Architectes is composed of two volumes of different heights. The upper volume, with its entrance, contains the multi-sports court; the lower volume houses the locker rooms, technical rooms, storage rooms, and the caretaker's quarters. The height difference between the two volumes and the rhythm of the wooden slats of the envelope creates an interesting sense of dynamism in the facades.
The materials and morphology used contrast lightness with mass, voids with solids, lightness and transparency with darkness and opaqueness, making the building appear different during the day and at night. The obvious structure is used to highlight the sports court space, taking advantage of the shape of the beams to visually extend the spectators' gaze in the stands.
Gymnasium Marie Marvingt by Ateliers O-S Architectes. Photograph by Cyrille Weiner.
Project description by Ateliers O-S Architectes
Located at Le Plessis-Bouchard in the Val d'Oise, between a suburban area and the agricultural plain, the gymnasium construction project is combined with that of a secondary school opposite. The area is typical of the Greater Paris region, between village and countryside. The new multi-purpose facility is largely open to the surrounding area, interacting with its immediate surroundings through the interplay of visibility and co-visibility with the outside world.
The project is set on a vast plot of land, allowing for the installation of a running track and long jump in addition to the gymnasium, as well as a vast landscaped parking lot.
The plot of land dedicated to the project lies on the edge of a residential area and farmland. To the north of the site is the Marie Sklodowska Curie secondary school. The building is located on the northern edge of the plot. To the right of this boundary façade, a layer of vegetation in the right-of-way of the grassy strip between the sidewalk and the plot provides distance and protection for the equipment.
The gymnasium occupies a central position on its site. To the east of the gymnasium is a parking area for vehicles, as well as a two-wheeler shelter including a garbage room. To the west of the gymnasium, a vegetated area has been left free for future expansion of the facility. The running tracks and long jump run along the southern boundary of the plot
The project comprises four program elements:
- The construction of a gymnasium.
- The construction of a janitor's accommodation.
- The creation of a landscaped parking lot.
- The creation of running tracks and a long jump.
Pedestrian access to the facility is from the newly-created road serving the college and gymnasium, and leads to the college forecourt on the other side of the road. Pedestrians access the facility via a tree-lined walkway ending in a forecourt.
The forecourt provides seating, a place for socializing and a transition between the exterior and the gymnasium. From the forecourt, an outside access is dedicated to the running tracks and the long-jump track. The forecourt is the hinge between the different entities that make up the site.
The janitor's accommodation is located within the gymnasium's built-up area, and is accessible via a dedicated pedestrian walkway. It is east-facing, with overhead lighting in the living room and kitchen.
The parking lot on the eastern side of the plot is accessible to pedestrians from the forecourt and the footpath linking it to the new road. Vehicles access it from the north-east corner of the plot, from the new road. Entrance and exit are via two separate lanes. The parking lot offers 40 parking spaces, 2 of which are accessible to people with reduced mobility. The parking lot is planted with trees and is functional. It takes the form of a loop via a one-way street. A rainwater retention basin will be installed under the parking lot.
The sports hall opens onto the "rue du collège", providing a view of the athletes from the street. In this way, the facility will animate the street and its first floor in relation to the gymnasium, making this neighborhood facility an open and attractive place.
The gymnasium is made up of two distinct volumes: a "high" volume housing the sports hall, and a "low" volume housing all the spaces required for the organizational operation of the gymnasium: changing rooms, sanitary facilities, technical rooms, storage rooms and the janitor's lodge and accommodation.
The "high" and "low" volumes are offset from each other, creating a dynamic dialogue between the facades. The play of dynamism and rhythm is accentuated by horizontal wood cladding. Thicker and denser on the lower volume, it lends stability and creates a foundation for the building. This register anchors the project to the ground, while the register of the upper volume provides a connection to the sky.
The gymnasium is on one level. Access from the forecourt leads to a hall offering a choice between access to the sports locker rooms and access to the bleachers from the visitor circulation area. Also accessible from this hall are the janitor's lodge and the public toilets. The south-facing passageway leading to the changing rooms offers a view from the entrance hall, is generously glazed and protected by blinds to control solar gain. Sports and visitor traffic are clearly identified and separated.
Through a measured play on transparency, the new facility is a window on the city and the landscape, providing a view of its interior activity from the outside, but above all framing the landscape like a window. Contrast is the key theme of the project, alternating between lightness and massiveness, light and dark, transparency and opacity, emptiness and fullness. During the day, the facility displays an opaque identity and asserts a sense of unity. At nightfall, it becomes a lantern, offering a reading of the volume through its voids.
The wooden structure of the facility is fully visible and highlighted in the sports hall. The beams following the profile of the roof lift the hall from the point of view of the visitor seated in the bleachers.
