...WORKING
Fort de France, Martinique (France)
Cool temperatures and transparency at the Appeals Court
The Fort-de-France Appeals Court, built opposite the former Courthouse, has generous volumes for welcoming, bright and comfortable spaces. "The building consists of a hollow parallelepiped, thus creating an urban breathing space, […] appearing like an object placed at the center of its urban setting" says Gilles Bouchez.
... CELEBRATING
Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe
Mémorial ACTe, an architectural gem
The Mémorial ACTe is a Caribbean Centre of Expression and Memory of Slavery and the Slave Trade, built on the symbolic site of the former Darboussier sugar refinery, on the Pointe-à-Pitre coast.
... STUDYING
Ary Payet School, Reunion island, France
Aluminium, wood and colours
Can colour be a material? This is what the façades of Ary Payet* school seem to be saying, with its wooden and aluminium components treated in their natural finish, while modern composite materials create a vertical interplay of colours that punctuate the technical rhythm of the building.
... STUDYING
Sibu, Malaysia
A futuristic architecture close to its roots
The University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS) in Sibu, in the heart of the island of Borneo, opened two years ago. The architecture reflects the scientific and technological nature of the teaching programmes that take place in a setting resolutely focused on sustainable development, as revealed by the 104 SUNEAL brise-soleil that adorn the grand entrance. A first in the area!
... LIVING
Libreville, Gabon
Onomo International develops its hotel concept in Gabon
The Onomo 3 star hotel in Libreville was designed by Ivorian architects Guillaume Koffi and Issa Diabaté. It is built around two large patios which act as the "lungs of the project", to borrow the words of Guillaume Koffi. "These internal gardens can be seen from each area of the hotel: common areas such as the lobby, lounge, restaurant and meeting rooms, as well as from the privacy of one's room. Around these gardens are built the 118 rooms of the hotel, spread across two levels. Each room features a terrace/balcony. "
... LIVING
Marrakesh, Morocco
TOPAZE sliding doors for the Royal Palm hotel
The Domaine Royal Palm Marrakech is the first project outside of the Indian Ocean region for Mauritian group Beachcomber. It consists of spacious villas and suites ranging in area from 72 m² up to 620 m² for the Villa Royale. Mauritian architect Jean-François Adam designed the block plan with a central axis leading to a belvedere overlooking the golf course and the Atlas mountains. On either side of this view point are the Hotel and the Country Club. The hotel entrance is high up, accentuating the grandeur of the place and opening up the panorama. Each suite or villa offers unobstructed views of the golf course and the snow-capped Atlas mountains.
... LIVING
Quemado hotel complex, Al Hoceima, Morocco
Blending into exceptional surroundings
The Quemado hotel complex, built in the Al Hoceima bay, in the heart of Moroccan Rif, comprises 48 two or three bedroom apartments with lounge and kitchen spread across 3 three to five floor buildings on a plot measuring more than 13 ha, plus a hotel with around 100 rooms...
: STAND
Comfort and Design in the TECHNAL City
With over 350,000 visitors at Batimat 2013, this year Technal had another chance to show its product range and latest innovations to a large audience...
... WORKING - Rennes, France
A glass envelope with constantly changing reflections
The Biotrial pharmacology research laboratory hired architect Jean-Pierre Meignan to design this 6000 m² building. "I created an object-architecture in such a diverse, dynamic research environment, combining discretion and protection with the spirit of discovery and openness. Every day the building feels different, depending on where you are and when. I also wanted to create a building filled with light to improve user experience." Jean-Pierre Meignan's design is a full-height glass envelope with no intermediate transoms, which required interior guardrails for the openings, initially casement windows. ...
... WORKING - Xalapa court, Mexico
A balanced architecture
Situated on one of the highest hills in the Animas region, the Federal Court of Fiscal and Administrative Justice in Xalapa, capital of the state of Veracruz, comprises three superimposed sections. The first, which is half underground, serves as the court platform. The second, on the ground floor, opens onto two large patios which offer natural light and ventilation and allow the building's functional connections to be seen from outside. Finally, a third parallelepiped sits perpendicular to the base of the ground floor and cantilevered so that the two ends hang over the empty space...
... RENOVATING - Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Comfort and transparency
Architect Benié Adou redesigned an emblematic 70s-style villa comprising concrete rectangles offset to create 3 half levels. “The analysis of the design of this beautiful example of architecture revealed that its creator had probably considered the possibility of raising the height. I pursued this idea of raised height and created an extension to the left of the existing structure. As the living room proved quite small, I built a large “table” (16m x 9m top and 3m high resting on 4 posts and two 14m beams).
... LIVING - Le François, Martinique, France
A contemporary take on a Creole theme
Built on an outstanding site on the windward coast, this villa covering more than 700 m² is broken down into relatively separate, airy spaces on a plot measuring 3675 m². The way in which the rooms, doors and window openings are arranged offer the occupants “slideshow” views of the islands and the Atlantic ocean. Views which change from one room to the next. The finest views are available through the huge glazed areas in the lounge (6.50 m) and the master bedroom (4.50 m), where the understated TOPAZE + pocket windows slide away neatly into the walls, so as not to get in the way of the scenery.
... ENJOYING - Jany Swimming Pool and Ice Rink, Toulouse, France
Hot and cold blow on GEODE
The Alex Jany Sports Complex in Toulouse has an indoor swimming pool with two pools of 25 m and 15 m, a paddling pool and outside beaches, and a 60 m ice rink which can seat 900 spectators. All the project's functional elements (reception hall, stairways, walkways, gangways and furnishings) are in the separation between the ice rink and the swimming pool whose volumes and lines are in permanent tension: curves and round countours for the ice rink covered with vertical wood cladding, straight lines disappearing into the backlighting of the natural light for the rectangular volume swimming pool, the contrasts seem to blow hot and cold.
... GREEN - The French Lycée in Dakar wins the 2012 AFEX* Prize
The jury of the 2012 AFEX* Prize for French architecture worldwide met on 29 March in Paris and awarded the prize to the Jean-Mermoz French Lycée in Dakar (Senegal). This operation's program covers the whole of the education sector, from nursery level to the baccalaureate and includes a large number of sports facilities. 2,400 pupils of forty nationalities and their teachers, and the administrative staff share 17,000 m² of buildings and 40,000 m² of grounds...
... LIVING - Singapore
Sliding doors 3.4 m high!
Vento Systems Pte Ltd supplied and installed Topaze+ Sliding Doors for one villa totally open to the light. This is a first of in Singapore with sash dimension 3.4m (H) x 2m (W). To emphasize their point, Vento Systems along with Technal, had presented a full-scale prototype which immediately convinced the customer...
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