BOUGAINVILLE
In a former industrial wasteland that has become the fertile Bougainville Park, a 51-meter-long rectangular space welcomes the Bougainville Park Center and an educational center for students, called the Nature Relais. It is designed as a bioclimatic Mediterranean building consisting of a structural framework of massive Beaulieu stone, generously featured both exterior and interior.
The height of the building and the length of the walls correspond to the size of the blocks (200x50x32 cm) quarried 160 km from the site. The lintels are keyed. The installation is traditional, on lime mortar combined with ivory-white silica sand. A raw concrete base protects the limestone from damage.
Like the stone, the technical elements derived from thermal and ventilation systems are reflected in the use of healthy, natural materials: wood fiber panels under the ceiling slab, a roll of recycled denim cotton insulation inside, and a 60 cm thick plant substrate covering the roof. Natural ventilation of the premises at night and air fans provide passive cooling.
On the park side, a giant gargoyle, a reinterpretation of Viollet-le-Duc's gargoyles, directs rainwater into an educational garden.
