The centre has different spaces to encourage social life and municipal music associations. The rooms complement each other, and we can find meeting areas, multimedia or DIY workshops.
Working with raw materials such as local chestnut, concrete and corrugated iron, they manage to highlight the usability and quality of the centre's spaces.
Social and cultural center in Cossé-le-Vivien by Lemoal Lemoal Architectes. Photograph by Erle Marec.
Project description by Lemoal Lemoal Architectes
The project arose from the desire of the Cossé-le-Vivien town hall to give a second life to an old municipal technical center by creating a space for social and cultural life for its inhabitants. It houses the Famille Rurale association, a music school and multipurpose spaces.
Located in the center of the town, the social and cultural center is part of the continuity of double-sided buildings that bear witness to an architecture that is modest in its materialities. Its adjoining buildings are clad in slate, striped single-layer plaster and sheet metal.
The first intention was to keep the structural elements in good condition. The interior concrete block partitions as well as the frame have been preserved. Thus, the layout of the project spaces is adapted, to a large extent, to the existing spaces.
Social and cultural center in Cossé-le-Vivien by Lemoal Lemoal Architectes. Photograph by Erle Marec.
Then, the new corrugated sheet metal envelope allows a humble inscription of the project in its context. Due to its worn appearance, the corrugated iron recalls the past occupations of this place. The proportions of the openings are the traces of the old sectional doors of the technical center. Particular attention has been paid to the frames and exterior lighting to underline, on the contrary, the potential for a warm welcome from the public.
Inside, repurposed chandeliers from a private mansion in Paris highlight raw materials like solid chestnut, cotton, and concrete.
Our proposal questions the second life of ordinary heritage in rural areas with the strong transformation of an old municipal services workshop into spaces to welcome social life and the municipality's musical associations.
Through a fine work of raw material (local chestnut), concrete and corrugated iron, we wanted to highlight the comfort of use and the quality of the spaces created.
Social and cultural center in Cossé-le-Vivien by Lemoal Lemoal Architectes. Photograph by Erle Marec.
A painstaking work in the design of bespoke furniture has made it possible to optimize the spatial quality of the complex, guaranteeing its unique and welcoming character.
The complex is lit by reused 19th century chandeliers from the selective demolition of the Hotel d'Iéna in Paris.
The duality between the industrial roughness of the envelope and the preciousness of the wood and the chandeliers allows for the creation of a unique and warm space. A setting for social and cultural activities.
