Municipal technical center and offices
The Achères Municipal Technical Center project is developing a program consisting of four independent and connected functional entities: administrative offices, municipal archives, workshops (work and storage spaces), and municipal garages.
To serve these departments, the building has two main areas, technical and administrative, which are organized into two separate volumes streamlined by the spatial constraints imposed by the shape of the site. Although compact, the chosen layout allows each area to function independently. Smooth connections between them ensure a comfortable working environment for all staff and personnel.
The project is part of the Petite Arche joint development zone, which is responsible for the city's entrance. Its shape signals its position in an urbanized area and stands out from the distant landscape, particularly the protected site of the Saint-Germain-En-Laye forest.
The building aims to develop and enhance the urban principles of the ZAC (joint development zone), namely harmonious interaction with the surrounding environment, particularly the landscape. The composition of the site establishes a harmonious relationship between the
building and its immediate environment thanks to the design of a vegetated threshold at the edge of the plot, formalizing the landscape continuity to the north, and thanks to the urban character of the development at the southern boundary of the property.
The building's design is organized around natural elements: the challenge is to take advantage of all their qualities to ensure user comfort.
To serve the functionality of the program and its integration into the urban context, the project proposes a particular flow management system through the creation of a covered alleyway. This architectural choice of sheltered circulation between the two volumes is the building's connecting feature. In addition to serving the center's workshops and storage areas, it provides an additional, protected, and functional activity space that ensures a comfortable working environment for users.
At the heart of the project is a bright and airy space that encourages interaction and encounters between all the technical center's staff.
The Achères municipal technical center project has weathered the complicated periods of recent years, and the path that led to the completion of the building was certainly not linear or typical for a public works project. Restrictions due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, and the events of war the following year, have profoundly affected the market for raw materials and their derivatives, with significant impacts on the design and construction process.
Despite these limited conditions, the relationship between the project manager and the project owner has been based on continuous, open, and collaborative dialogue since the beginning of the project. All technical and functional choices for the project were discussed with the active participation of all stakeholders. Members of the technical services, as well as all workshop managers, were involved in defining every detail of the project, enabling the spaces to be designed to best meet their specific needs. The project recommends a mixed structural system composed of concrete walls, glued laminated timber posts and beams, and CLT floors. The modular and prefabricated nature of these materials and their ease of installation allow for intelligent assembly and disassembly of the building. Construction efficiency is guaranteed. This structural system ensures the rational use of materials, avoiding overly sophisticated choices that would undermine the project's economy.
The structural grid allows for the coexistence of standardized elements, in particular facade cladding made of corrugated stainless steel sheets. Their rhythm varies according to the levels, highlighting the different volumes.
