FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais
Dunkerque, France · 2013
Photo · Philippe Ruault
A precedent for adaptive reuse and architectural doubling, where a historic concrete industrial hall is paired with an identical, lightweight translucent polycarbonate volume to expand cultural programming.
- What we like about this project
- Red neon text mounted on the upper gable of the translucent structure.
Materials
- polycarbonate-panels
- steel-framing
- concrete
- glass
Visual identifiers
- translucent-facade
- polycarbonate-cladding
- gabled-volume
- industrial-heritage
- twin-structures
Style tags
- high-tech
- minimalist
- industrial-heritage
- contemporary
Visual tags
- adaptive-reuse
- industrial-chic
- translucent-architecture
- lightweight-structure
- museum
- cultural-center
- Geometry
- Two side-by-side gabled volumes of identical profile. The left volume is a solid, historic concrete structure with vertical pilasters; the right volume is a contemporary, lightweight, translucent replica of the original silhouette.
- Facade system
- Double-skin translucent polycarbonate facade on a steel frame.
- Structural guess
- Internal steel frame scaffolding supporting lightweight floor plates and a polycarbonate envelope.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale industrial halls, roughly five to six stories tall, connected by an elevated gantry or bridge.
- Lighting
- Bright, diffused daylight under a partly cloudy sky, highlighting the semi-translucent quality of the polycarbonate skin.
- Atmosphere
- An airy, industrial-scale juxtaposition of heavy history and lightweight contemporary transparency.
- Environmental context
- Industrial port area with open sky, grassy foreground mounds, and neighboring industrial structures.
- Spatial experience
- The translucent volume reveals its internal steel scaffolding, staircases, and floor plates, creating a sense of depth and lightness that contrasts with the opaque, heavy mass of the original concrete hall.
- Composition rhythm
- The repeating vertical bays of the historic concrete hall are mirrored by the lightweight steel framing visible through the translucent skin of the new volume.
- Style reading
- High-tech industrial minimalism
- Program
- Contemporary art museum and cultural center
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- polycarbonate-panels, steel-framing, concrete, glass
- Visual identifiers
- translucent-facade, polycarbonate-cladding, gabled-volume, industrial-heritage, twin-structures
- Style tags
- high-tech, minimalist, industrial-heritage, contemporary
- Visual tags
- adaptive-reuse, industrial-chic, translucent-architecture, lightweight-structure, museum, cultural-center
- Geometry
- Two side-by-side gabled volumes of identical profile. The left volume is a solid, historic concrete structure with vertical pilasters; the right volume is a contemporary, lightweight, translucent replica of the original silhouette.
- Facade system
- Double-skin translucent polycarbonate facade on a steel frame.
- Structural guess
- Internal steel frame scaffolding supporting lightweight floor plates and a polycarbonate envelope.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale industrial halls, roughly five to six stories tall, connected by an elevated gantry or bridge.
- Lighting
- Bright, diffused daylight under a partly cloudy sky, highlighting the semi-translucent quality of the polycarbonate skin.
- Atmosphere
- An airy, industrial-scale juxtaposition of heavy history and lightweight contemporary transparency.
- Environmental context
- Industrial port area with open sky, grassy foreground mounds, and neighboring industrial structures.
- Spatial experience
- The translucent volume reveals its internal steel scaffolding, staircases, and floor plates, creating a sense of depth and lightness that contrasts with the opaque, heavy mass of the original concrete hall.
- Composition rhythm
- The repeating vertical bays of the historic concrete hall are mirrored by the lightweight steel framing visible through the translucent skin of the new volume.
- Style reading
- High-tech industrial minimalism
- Program
- Contemporary art museum and cultural center
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture