Bigoni Mortemard

Building In Rouen

Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto

BUILDING IN ROUEN

Stéphane Bigoni, Antoine Mortemard

ARCHITECTS
Stéphane Bigoni, Antoine Mortemard

PHOTOGRAPHS
Takami Nakamoto

AREA
1800.0 m2

YEAR
2010

LOCATION
Rouen, France

CATEGORY
Refurbishment

Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto

Text description provided by architect.

Located in the ancient commercial harbor of Rouen (France), the project focuses on the extension of an old storage hangar between the railroad tracks and the Seine River, allowing it to house an auditorium and exhibit spaces.

Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto
Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto
Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto

In the middle of the building, a white lattice of lacquered steel surrounds an empty space occupied by a three-storey double staircase.

This large mashrabiya captures and diffracts light coming from bay windows above and around it, radiating bursts of light and shadow.

Such kinetic intensity gives the space a gentle monumentality.

Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto
Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto
Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto

At night, the lattice becomes a lantern, emerging from the lowest floor beneath the hangar’s frame.

The auditorium sits partially beneath the old hangar, a concrete structure independent of the existing building frame. 

Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto
Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto

The space conveys a sense of appeasement, with white floors, walls, ceilings and furnishing… A muted ambiance that is completed by a carpet and acoustic textiles.

The surprise lies at the end of the room, however, when the back wall of the stage opens, and the harbor is invited to join the conversation – to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the rotation of the vertical blinds.

Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto


Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto
Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto
Building In Rouen
© Takami Nakamoto


Building In Rouen
plan
Building In Rouen
section

Bigoni Mortemard
T +33 1 42621143
Bigoni Mortemard
154 Rue St Denis, 75002 Paris, France