École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Nantes
Nantes, France · 2009
Photo · Philippe Ruault
A precedent for institutional architecture that utilizes a raw concrete structural frame and external circulation ramps to create a highly flexible, open, and public-facing educational facility.
- What we like about this project
- The roof level functions as a fully accessible public plaza or viewing deck.
Materials
- exposed-concrete
- glass
- steel
- aluminum
Visual identifiers
- concrete-frame
- external-ramp
- accessible-roof
- curtain-wall
- industrial-aesthetic
Style tags
- industrial
- pragmatic
- functionalist
- raw-concrete
Visual tags
- infrastructure-as-architecture
- open-circulation
- educational
- raw-materials
- transparency
- Geometry
- A long, horizontal concrete frame structure with a prominent, gently sloping ramp system that wraps the upper levels and roof. The facade is organized in clear horizontal bands with deep floor plates.
- Facade system
- Glazed curtain wall system set back within a deep, open concrete frame.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete column-and-slab frame with long spans.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale institutional building, roughly three to four double-height stories, with visible human figures on the roof deck establishing scale.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting soft shadows under the deep concrete floor slabs.
- Atmosphere
- An open, active, and unpretentious educational hub integrated with its urban landscape.
- Environmental context
- Set back from a paved street with a row of young deciduous trees providing a soft green buffer in front of the open ground level.
- Spatial experience
- The building reads as an open, accessible infrastructure where circulation is pushed to the perimeter, allowing users on the ramps to look out over the city and park.
- Composition rhythm
- A strong horizontal grid of concrete columns and slabs, dynamically interrupted by the diagonal lines of the perimeter ramps.
- Style reading
- Industrial pragmatism and high-tech functionalism
- Program
- University or school of architecture
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- exposed-concrete, glass, steel, aluminum
- Visual identifiers
- concrete-frame, external-ramp, accessible-roof, curtain-wall, industrial-aesthetic
- Style tags
- industrial, pragmatic, functionalist, raw-concrete
- Visual tags
- infrastructure-as-architecture, open-circulation, educational, raw-materials, transparency
- Geometry
- A long, horizontal concrete frame structure with a prominent, gently sloping ramp system that wraps the upper levels and roof. The facade is organized in clear horizontal bands with deep floor plates.
- Facade system
- Glazed curtain wall system set back within a deep, open concrete frame.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete column-and-slab frame with long spans.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale institutional building, roughly three to four double-height stories, with visible human figures on the roof deck establishing scale.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting soft shadows under the deep concrete floor slabs.
- Atmosphere
- An open, active, and unpretentious educational hub integrated with its urban landscape.
- Environmental context
- Set back from a paved street with a row of young deciduous trees providing a soft green buffer in front of the open ground level.
- Spatial experience
- The building reads as an open, accessible infrastructure where circulation is pushed to the perimeter, allowing users on the ramps to look out over the city and park.
- Composition rhythm
- A strong horizontal grid of concrete columns and slabs, dynamically interrupted by the diagonal lines of the perimeter ramps.
- Style reading
- Industrial pragmatism and high-tech functionalism
- Program
- University or school of architecture
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture