Headquarters in Champigny-sur-Marne was inspired by the desire to create an efficient, functional compelx and above all one that stands as an indispensable element in the area’s redevelopment process. Characterized by an L-shaped plan and a silhouette that varies in height, the volumes develop into an articulated form, establishing crisp lines and allowing the square in front to be defined as a collective space. Each side also reacts to the existing surrounds through a relationship of solid and empty spaces: at the entrance, and thus facing the square, the façade is a permeable screen completely covered by glass hidden behind a system of loggias of varying heights, interrupted by a series of breaks in the pattern that make the composition more dynamic. The sides of the building opposite the entrance, facing the railroad and along the road, are more compact with a tight rhythm of vertical openings: these are the south, east and west facades, where it is necessary to filter the solar gain and to create an acoustic barrier. The shell is made of concrete cast onsite and it integrates the construction system: the result is a free plan, which can be organized according to the needs and can be transformed over time.
Architectural Design: Piuarch with Stefano Sbarbati
Images: © Sergio Grazia - Martin Argyroglo
Competition, 1st prize
Champigny Sur Marne, France
2017
Built surface: 2.700 sqm
Client: IDF Habitat
Offices
The north façade is characterized by a sequence of square pillars 67.5 cm wide spaced that design a loggia. The loggia is put in front of a permeable screen completely covered by glass.
The east, west and south elevations, which integrates the construction system, are more compact but never uniform. Large close surfaces are mixed with a tight rhythm of vertical openings; moreover, the loggia of the north façade wraps also some portions of the other sides and makes the composition more dynamic.
The basement is entirely devoted to parking because the building stands on land at risk of flooding.
Characterized by an L-shaped plan and a silhouette that varies in height, the building reacts, on each side, to the existing surrounds through a different relationship of solid and empty spaces.