Vénissieux mediateque. Dominique Perrault. 2001
Project type
The building's almost smooth, monochrome walls, interrupted only by the rhythm of the panels, reverberate with building's sobriety, its desire to express itself and open itself to everyone.
The mediateque stands in an area linking the old town centre with its modern southern expansion, connecting the two and thus playing a specific role in the urban design of the French town.
Glass, metal and concrete form a volume with strong lines, based on the juxtaposition between a closed exterior and an interior permeated by light. The passage of light is favoured not only by the glass façades but by irregularly positioned skylights of different sizes on the roof.
There are no hierarchies of level and location: all functions are on a single level, flanked by a gallery running its entire length which is not only a passageway but a guarantee of the required thermal and acoustic insulation.
The building is in fact designed to save energy, so that the gallery serves as an insulating gap.
Another criterion that guided the building's design is flexibility, guaranteeing that space can be used in different ways and people and things can move around.
A second volume in the centre of the mediateque seems to cut it in two: this is the office building, a presence that appears almost extraneous to the large "flattened" volume below it but well linked with it, accessible directly from the mediateque hall.
Simplicity is the key to interior design too, as revealed by the bare concrete floors and the geometric, linear furnishings. The large curtains and partitions in different colours and materials add a lively touch.
Despite its schematic appearance, the building manages to make its presence felt in the fabric of the town thanks to use of a sober language which is nonetheless open to dialogue and intercultural exchange.
Laura Della Badia
www.perraultarchitecte.com
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