Lac de Fontclaire Visitor Pavilion
This consolidation addresses a twofold challenge: providing users with a functional, coherent facility, while freeing the lakeshore from the sprawl of small, disparate structures that had accumulated over the decades.
Views through and over the building establish new framings of the site’s emblematic landmarks: the Cathar castle, the chapel, the church bell tower and the Pyrenean foothills of the Aude, all in the distinctive light peculiar to mountain lakes.
The building is insulated and naturally ventilated, ensuring optimal conditions for lifeguard supervision of the bathing area. The materials used are durable: timber treated according to its exposure, zinc roofing and metal-framed windows and doors.
This attention to material durability responds to the specific constraints of a site permanently exposed to lake spray and to the marked climatic variations of the Aude’s mid-mountain region.
The project benefits from the immediate availability of mature timber from the municipal forest. Thanks to this high-quality timber supplied by the municipality, the design draws on the principles of solid timber construction: sections and spans are put to best use, for the structural frame on the one hand and for the cladding on the other.
The felling site, the sawmill, the carpentry contractor and the construction site all lie within a radius of just 14 km. This exemplary, tightly knit local supply chain demonstrates that a public facility of this scale can be sourced entirely from within a single territory.
All the timber used in the project comes from the municipal forest and is certified Bois des Pyrénées and PEFC.
