The harmony of musical notes. Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes
27/03/2019.
[Saint-Quentin, Yvelines] France
metalocus, EDWIN GUAILLA
metalocus, EDWIN GUAILLA
The OPUS 5 Architectes office in Paris, presented the new Élancourt Music School. The bright interior lighting system and the "wells", which flood with natural light, express the softness and serenity of the building, achieving harmony, as if they were musical notes on the walls. Concrete and brick are the two materials present throughout the school, which in the night hours express the interior light on the facades.
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes. Photograph © Luc Boegly
Site plan. Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes
Floor. Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes
Floor of the existing. The ancient ecumenical center. Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes
Floor. Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes
Elevation and section. Elancourt Music School by OPUS 5 Architectes
OPUS 5 Architectes established the new Elancourt Music School in the former ecumenical center of the Sept Mares neighborhood one of the focal points founding the new town of Saint-Quentin en Yvelines. The building was originally a house of worship. The architects chose to seamlessly clad all the façades entirely with new bricks, the use of brick in the rehabilitation project made it possible to retain the building’s original architectural principle and its inward-looking and private character. Restraint and interiority characterize this repurposing project, which does not seek to stand out, but rather to lightly restore its place in the center of the town.
Description of project by OPUS 5 Architectes
A few weeks ago, the Paris office of OPUS 5 delivered the new Élancourt Music School in Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, France.
The new Élancourt Music School has taken up residence in the former ecumenical center of the Sept Mares neighborhood, one of the focal points founding the new town of Saint-Quentin en Yvelines.
The building was originally a house of worship, a simple, without ornament and inward-looking construction owing to the peace and quiet required by its function. Philippe Deslandes built it between 1974 and 1977, with the desire that it embody the qualities of simplicity, modularity and anonymity.
Concrete and brick are the two materials present throughout the school. The central and open position of the building makes it easy to visually locate in the neighborhood, which facilitated its adaptation to the new vocation of music school, serving as both a focal point of cultural life and a warm and inviting meeting place.
The use of brick in the rehabilitation project made it possible to retain the building’s original architectural principle and its inward-looking and private character.
The architects chose to seamlessly clad all the façades entirely with new bricks, treating the walls as “moucharabiehs” in front of the windows, counterbalancing the complexity of the volumes through the complete material unity of the envelop.
The hand-molded bricks are laid with a mortarless technique. Nuances of color enliven and modulate this continuous skin. Come the night, the shimmering interior lighting system expresses the softness and serenity of this institution of learning and practice.
The fifth façade visible to all the surrounding taller apartment houses is treated as a deep blue synthetic lawn, evoking the blue note, immediately signaling the identity of the facility and forming a patch of color in the center of the esplanade.
Light wells flood the interior with a soft natural light, balancing the natural light penetrating through the moucharabiehs and endowing each room with a greater feeling of privacy.
The architects sought, through the harmonious, luminous and attractive treatment of the interior spaces, to transform the building’s austere appearance into something more appealing to a younger public.
They achieved this by focusing on fluidity of circulations, quality of volumes, light and materials, thereby turning the building into a harmonious space of pleasure and fulfilment.
Restraint and interiority characterize this repurposing project, which does not seek to stand out, but rather to lightly restore its place in the center of the town, to endow it with greater and lasting dignity and to kindle desire and curiosity, encouraging people to enter.
More information
Architects
Project Management
OPUS 5 Architectes, Hùng Tôn (project manager)
Collaborators
Structural engineering.- Batiserf M&E. Engineer.- Icegem. Construction Economist.- Cabinet Votruba. Acoustics.- Impédance.
Client
City of Élancourt
Area
900 m² (9688 sq ft)
Cost
Cost €2,000,000 excl. VAT
Dates
Proces-contract negotiated.- July 2014.
Studies.- November 2015-November 2016.
Works.- March 2017-September 2018.
Construction time.- 18 months.
Delivery.- October 2018.
Location
Dalle des 7 Mares, place de la Foi, Élancourt
Bruno Decaris, Agnès Pontremoli, Pierre Tisserand. OPUS 5 arquitectes
Opus 5 architectes Founded by Bruno Decaris and Agnès Pontremoli thirty years ago, the agency was enriched in 2011 by the experience of Pierre Tisserand.
Bruno Decaris, finished his architecture studies at l'Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts, in1974. He has been teacher at La Défense School of Architecture, Notre Dame University, and l´Ecole nationale supérieure d'architecture de Paris-Malaquais. Since 1984 is Chief Architect for Historical Monuments in France.
Agnes Pontremoli, architect since 1974 by l'Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts, works in association with Bruno Decari since 1979 at the OPUS 5 Atellier.
They are experts in old buildings interventions. They have done lots of rehabilitation and restauration projects including the Falaise Castle, Ardenne Abbey. They won in 2010 the Architecture Bretagne Prize, because of the House at Belle-Ile.
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