A Project closely carried together with Armand Zanota, Delphine Suter and Ines Branet. Also working on articulation and ergonomy : Aymane Filali, Claire Hennel, Léo Perrin, Luis Melgar, Nina Cruchaud, Stephen Bopeso. Many thanks for everyone's dedication !

An articulation is an assembly constituting the junction between two or more elements, while still allowing their relative freedom.

L. Perrin

SITUATION

The part of the project located on the parking lot proposes to link different etymologies related to the construction. As the Germanic relationship between "building" and "post-building/inhabiting" (bauen and bauern) was strongly evoked in the course, we first decided to work on the link that "building" has with "weaving" in Latin - and then to try to reconcile them.

I. Branet

Axonometric view of the project placed in a wider context - that of the whole house.

C. Estreicher

Plan - elevations.

C. Estreicher

D. Suter

Axonometric view of the project placed in a wider context - that of the parking lot.

ENTRANCE

At the entrance, a series of planes seem to emerge from the staircase and stretch out over the car park like a fluid, extending the fountain of the house (see the group flows). While their varying heights allow for the ascent to the staircase, their great width invites for more than a simple passage. The user can indeed appropriate the entrance in the same way as the large concrete blocks present on the site. The entrance offers a space for rest or discussion, a transition between the site and the house.

C. Estreicher

D. Suter

From the top - and underneath.

STAIRCASE

The space narrows in the staircase. If the entrance had the characteristics of a common space, the structure of the staircase forces individualism. The interactions [more] between the tightly woven elements reveal interiority, both structurally and psychologically. Within this stairwell, the guest is indeed conditioned before entering the rest of the house.

A. Zanota

                                                                                                                          

D. Suter

Woven modularity.

FOOTBRIDGE

The staircase ends with a footbridge. Concrete at first, it allows a physical passage from the car park to the forest. It also provides a link between the constructive logics of the two environments. In fact, consisting of a series of interlocking elements starting from a quadruple central rail, it contributes to the philosophy of the car park, focusing research on prefabricated elements. The footbridge also takes up the motif of the balcony railing, thus integrating an important element of the next room.

I. Branet

D. Suter

The structure transports - architecture connects.

SYNTHESIS PROPOSITION

The patchwork of plans at the entrance and its bracing, the structure of the staircase, the interlocking of the elements of the footbridge or the resemblance of the whole to a bird's nest from the outside are, at first glance, the fruit of Latin etymology. However, to reduce work at altitude, and in the future to simplify repairs or even anticipate deconstruction, we have based our work on prefabrication. All the "walkable" horizontal elements follow this method. Prefabrication can also create a form of habit, which does not rhyme with inhabitation - but that is the only difference between the two words.

A. Zanota & I. Branet

Unfolded section. Unfolded cloth?

PROCESS

PHASE 2

Articulation and ergonomy groups have merged, and decided to focus on three main moments - the parking lot, the debate room and the berth. This double decision has caused a spatial restriction, enabling to deeper explore each part. This collaboration also allowed working on various scales, be it the relation the body has with an element, or the one elements have with each other.

The three focal points of the Articulation team among the house.

BERTH

The goal of the berth is to design a comfy space near the Arve. To do so, we use a warm material : brick. Each of them is to be made in situ, using clay from the Rhône. Since bricks are accumulated as alluvium around a tree, it is a keystone of this part of the project. The work around these two elements is thought to create a welcoming topography for the body. The whole is embraced by the foliage's shadow. Bricks are also a habitat for local plants, and the berth lives throughout the seasons. During fall, foliage and bricks complement each others. The different levels respond to different levels of Arve's fluctuation.

        

                                      Plan. Sections. Elevations.                      Further development.

The bricks are getting warmer under the sun.

    

The seasons come one after the other, but do not look alike.

STAIRS

The parking stairs are the only land access to the other rooms. This entrance marks the beginning of an architectural promenade, an introduction the general articulation of the house. After a first contact with the protostructure, the stairs integrate you inside a terracotta fountain. The water literally envelops the inside. Thus, there are two main moments when walking through these stairs. Firstly, you experience the house from the outside. Then, as the water envelops you, you will experience it from within - and start feeling the interiority of the house.

Plan. Elevations. Sections.

Exploded axon.

When it rains, humans desert the site. But the structure keeps living.

PHASE 1

The groups have changed - and so has the project. The four studios (Abenia, Bondu, Treiber and Wegman) are now working on the proposal of previous group 6. This week, the articulation team focused on the skin of each part to better understand the new environment.

Surface analysis. 

        

Adding a reflective layer on the verticals makes them disappear. The importance of horizontality expands.

In situ materials dialogue. Reused potato bags and local clay.

    

Structural detail. Boat sails are being reused to cover the bleacher of the debate room.

       

Evolution.

Collision between the protostructure and the wall - made of gabions and with a wooden coating.

Voilà trois jours que nous sommes confinés dans les hauteurs genevoises. Comme en 563 à Tauredunum, un gigantestque pan de roche s’est effondré dans les Alpes. En une heure, un ras-de-marrée a déferlé sur le lac et ravagé les régions côtières. Avec mon appareil photo dans le sac, je pars documenter ce moment historique.

Je découvre la Jonction comme je ne l’avais jamais vue auparavant. Le barrage du Seujet a été emporté, mais un autre s’est formé plus loin avec d’innombrables débris, freinés par le viaduc ferroviaire. Le niveau de l’eau est monté et les courants ont évolué. Depuis le point de rencontre des deux rivières, je suis l’irréelle traînée d’eau bleue qui remonte le cours boueux de l’Arve. Soudain, sur l’autre rive, un drap blanc attire mon attention. En traversant le pont, je distingue derrière la voile les restes d’un bateau perché dans les arbres. Avant de réaliser que le théâtre où j’aimais à me rendre n’est plus…

Les semaines ont passé et la vie a repris. Les écoles étant toujours fermées, je décide avec quelques amis de récupérer le bois du navire et de construire une scène provisoire. En attendant que les acteurs reviennent, je me balance sur la voile et saute dans l’eau.

                 COLLAGES

Scène

Débat

Accès à l'eau

Signal

                  STORY BOARD

                   ORIGAMI

Expérimentations spatiales à partir d'un plan

                 DESSINS