National School of Art

Limoges, France
1994
 

Envelope

The building can be explained as a set of boxes placed one inside the other. The outside box provides minimal shelter needed for certain internal activities and regulates the daylight, forming an interclimatic space. The exterior container limits the overall volume, while areas within are marked by new boxes which in turn consist of yet further limiting containers. With each box, certain functions are more clearly defined as they need a higher grade of protection or technical definition due to specific functions. In comparison to the overall size of the building the positioning of the limited surfaces within reminds us of the "Russian matryoshka doll".

Pools

The "Pool" – an entity repeated throughout the whole building – is a changeable unit that defines the working environments of the school and is designed to adapt according to specific needs.

Spatial volume

This 145 m x 37 m shoebox becomes more complex where it interfaces with the land, an East West hillside falling into a valley, resulting in variable ceiling heights. Since any system contrived for short term adaptations would soon be taxed by the demands of reality, the architects have defined a number of parameters that allow for spatial transformation: overhead lighting; self-contained non-structurally dependent components; and a circulatory system of catwalks.

Ateliers

Every pool, thematically intended for painting, design, ceramics or sculpture, consists of a large space in direct contact with nature in which smaller areas, 'mezzanines', can be suspended or attached. Sliding partitions enable the floor to be subdivided into compartments, so that each department can arrange its own world as it sees fit, working within the given boundaries, but if needs be, crossing them as well.
The heating system has been planned to enable each module to be heated separately. To guarantee the flexibility of the single space under the roof there is a minimal Meccano-like structure in which transparent or opaque infill panels can easily be installed without glue or mortar.

Façade

Polarized primary elements – open and closed; long and wide; high and low; 'constructed' and 'natural'; slow and fast; light and dark – often battle each other in architecture. Where usually the highest degree of complexity is unavoidable – internal functions confronting the outside world – Limoges delivers basic shelter combined with a highly advanced system to support the illumination of the building via daylight.

Structure

A single large roof with trusses 37 meters wide, closed with alternating metal and glass panels, supplies the right, 'dose' of zenithal light. Sunscreens on the roof add to its refinement and accentuate the lightness of the structure. Tucked beneath a seemingly weightless roof are communal services and the four individual departments, located higher or lower on the slope, depending on what purpose they serve.

Lighting

This architecture occurs as a real-time experience, being reinvented on each occasion. It is merely wall, floor and roof. It is without even windows or doors – except to private spaces – only walls that slide open or closed, and blinds to control the light.

Nature

The building is set on the edge of the campus, a steep wooded valley bordered by a busy ring road. The public facilities are on the north side of the building, spread across two levels: entrance, reception, library, administration, amphitheatre, caféteria and exhibition area. To the South, the building gains height as it descends the slope. On this side are the four pools for painting, design, ceramics and sculpture, large spaces in which smaller ones can be hung or stacked.

Environment

The building does not end with its construction; it proposes a 'point of departure' for its users. Its flexibility manifests itself less via complex technical solutions than by virtue of its simple geometric structures and its almost archaic models of arrangement. The architecture is not beholden to a conventional view of functionality, responding to all extreme conditions at once, though they might only occur occasionally. Instead, the design guideline is a body’s capability to maintain its agility. There is no need to propose identical environments for diverse needs. Every place has its own limitations, its unique parameters; nevertheless, such limitations leave a great deal of liberty.

Project Data

Program

National School of Art and Research Center for Ceramic Arts. The different programs for the facility fit together into an interclimatic monospace.

Client:  French Ministry of Culture

Status: Opening: October, 1994

Location: Campus des Vanteaux, Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France

Cost: 8 Mio € (value 1994)

Surface: 7,750 m²

 

Team

Architects: LABFAC, Finn Geipel, Nicolas Michelin, Michel Delplace (project leader) with Cécile Balay, Nicolas Boudier, Karine Labbay, Emmanuel Laurent, Petra Marguc, Natassa Papadede, Cyril Tretout, Mathilde Wacheux, Lisette Wong, Simone Wyss; Structural Engineers: Werner Sobek, Stuttgart; Lighting Engineers: Andy Sedgwick, OVE Arup, London; Artist: Platino, Stuttgart; Photography: George Fessy, Paris

Envelope
LEC-01-ESS-LIN-typology
Image 1/9 LEC-01-ESS-LIN-typology
Pools
LEC-02-ESS-LIN-view of ceramics pool, photo: George Fessy
Image 2/9 LEC-02-ESS-LIN-view of ceramics pool, photo: George Fessy
Spatial volume
LEC-03-ESS-LIN-sections
Image 3/9 LEC-03-ESS-LIN-sections
Ateliers
 LEC-04-ESS-LIN-studios and ateliers with open configurations, photo: George Fessy
Image 4/9 LEC-04-ESS-LIN-studios and ateliers with open configurations, photo: George Fessy
Façade
LEC-05-ESS-LIN-nature, photo: George Fessy
Image 5/9 LEC-05-ESS-LIN-nature, photo: George Fessy
Structure
LEC-06-ESS-LIN-structural truss, photo: George Fessy
Image 6/9 LEC-06-ESS-LIN-structural truss, photo: George Fessy
Lighting
LEC-07-ESS-LIN-model, photo: George Fessy
Image 7/9 LEC-07-ESS-LIN-model, photo: George Fessy
Nature
LEC-08-ESS-LIN-view across the valley, photo: George Fessy
Image 8/9 LEC-08-ESS-LIN-view across the valley, photo: George Fessy
Environment
LEC-09-ESS-LIN-roof plan.jpg
Image 9/9 LEC-09-ESS-LIN-roof plan.jpg
bild
bild
 
 
Category Ref. Title Year City Country Type Status
Architecture N6N Halle 6 ouest Halle 6 ouest 2019 Nantes France Cultural Realized + 1599
Architecture BGW Bremer Punkt 1-10 Vielfalt in Serie Bremer Punkt 1-10 Vielfalt in Serie 2022 Bremen Germany Housing Realized + 2306
Architecture SCD Cité du Design Cité du Design 2009 Saint-Étienne France Cultural Realized + 2248
Architecture PAQ Housing Building, Quai Henri IV Housing Building, Quai Henri IV 2015 Paris France Housing Realized + 1951
Architecture SNA Alvéole 14 Alvéole 14 2007 Saint- Nazaire France Cultural Realized + 1685
Urbanism PAM Grand Paris Métropole Douce Grand Paris Métropole Douce 2008 Paris France Urban Design Study Completed + 1524
Architecture BT2 Typenhochhaus Typenhochhaus 2017 Berlin Germany Housing Competition 1st Prize + 1290
Architecture PRC Paris, Caserne de Reuilly Paris, Caserne de Reuilly 2019 Paris France Housing Realized + 1459
Architecture BPJ Boulogne Point-du-Jour Boulogne Point-du-Jour 2019 Paris France Housing Realized + 154
Design PAR Permanent Exhibition Space Permanent Exhibition Space 2003 Paris France Exhibition Realized + 1301
Architecture TAC Achillion Coastal Platform Achillion Coastal Platform 1997 Thessaloniki Greece Infrastructure Competition + 1325
Architecture NAC Nîmes Arena Nîmes Arena 1989 Nîmes France Cultural Realized + 1798
Architecture AMF Métafort Multimedia Research Center Métafort Multimedia Research Center 1998 Aubervillers France Cultural Competition + 1510
Architecture LEC National School of Art National School of Art 1994 Limoges France Education Realized + 1440
Architecture OKH Oldenburg House Oldenburg House 2003 Oldenburg Germany Housing Realized + 1395
Urbanism ZAA Atlas Actif des Vallées Stéphanoises Atlas Actif des Vallées Stéphanoises 2008 Saint-Étienne France Research Study Completed + 1400
Art BSY Syn Chron Syn Chron 2005 Berlin Germany Exhibition Realized + 1390
Architecture POL Office Building in Paris Office Building in Paris 2012 Paris France Office Realized + 1420
Urbanism KSB Strasbourg - Kehl, Cour des Douanes - Zollhofareal Strasbourg - Kehl, Cour des Douanes - Zollhofareal 2013 Strasbourg/Kehl France/Germany Urban Design Competition 1st Prize + 1347
Architecture BIN LIN Office Space LIN Office Space 2012 Berlin Germany Office Realized + 1618
Urbanism AMP Aix-en-Provence Marseille Aix-en-Provence Marseille 2015 Aix-Marseille-Provence France Urban Design Study Completed + 1179
Design D+-0 Density ±0 Density ±0 2004 Paris France Exhibition Realized + 1440
Urbanism STA Urban Study for the Development of Sevran Urban Study for the Development of Sevran 2015 Sevran France Urban Design Study Completed + 1359