Pavillon Martell, the first work in France of SelgasCano Architects

Work is in progress at the Martell Foundation: while waiting for the inauguration of the whole complex, SelgasCano Architects designed a temporary pavilion where events will be hosted until the summer of 2018. The temporary pavilion, the first work architects José Selgas and Lucía Cano completed in France, will host events and workshops while the renovation work of the building interiors, designed by studio Brochet Lajus Pueyo, is being carried out. An initial and partial opening of the building to the public (ground floor and rooftop terrace) is scheduled for the summer of 2018, followed by a gradual roll-out of the building’s other floors. The completion of the project is scheduled for 2020/2021.

Inspired by some concepts already implemented in the pavilion created for the London Serpentine Gallery, for the Martell Foundation the architects designed a light and transparent structure, open to the outside world. It will be an installation that can be walked through by visitors, allowing them to engage in new experiences.
The pavilion is composed of modules built with a metal bearing structure covered by a light and translucent material creating exciting transparency and colour effects. Its modular structure allows the large paved courtyard at the back of the Foundation building to be covered with a light structure that can be easily dismounted and transported. In the future, the pavilion will be dismantled and most of its structures will be rebuilt elsewhere for social initiatives. Only one part of it will be reinstalled and stored at the Foundation, as a testimony to the original installation.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Design: SelgasCano Architects (José Selgas + Lucía Cano)
Place: Cognac, France
Photos: Iwan Baan

www.fondationdentreprisemartell.com
www.selgascano.net