Design and ceramics renew a shopping center
FMG Fabbrica Marmi and architect Paolo Gianfrancesco, of THG Arkitektar Studio, have designed the restyling of the third floor of Reykjavik's largest shopping center. Ceramic, the central element of the project, covers floors, walls and furniture with versatile solutions and distinctive character.
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The building’s cross-shaped design responds to the urban context, with each of the four protruding planes of the cross pointing to a landmark point in Caen: to the historical sites of the Abbaye-aux-Dames in the north and the Abbaye-aux-Hommes in the west, to the central train station in the south, and to the area of new construction in the east. At the same time, the geometry of two intersecting axes is informed by the library’s programmatic logic. The four planes, each housing a pedagogic discipline – human sciences, science and technology, literature, and the arts – meet in a large reading room on the first floor, to encourage maximum flow between the departments. This main library space is carved out of the center of the solid cross, defining the building’s design as an opposition between mass and void.
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Bibliothèque Alexis de Tocqueville, Caen, France
Program: library
Area: 12,700 sqm
Completion: 2017
Competition
Architect: OMA
Project manager: Barcode Architects – Dirk Peters
Associate in charge: Clément Blanchet
Design team: Cristina Ampatzidou, Joshua Boyd, Nils Christa, Marc Dahmen, Guillaume Durand, Alice Grégoire, Simon de Jong, Anthony Joyeux, Noémie Laviolle, Clément Périssé, Jos Reinders
Design development
Architect: OMA
Associate in charge: Clément Blanchet
Project leader: Francisco Martinez
Design team: Merve Anil, Alicia Casals, Helena Hiriart, Phil Handley, Sangwoo Kim, Byungchan Kim, Pierre Jean Le Maitre, Maria Aller Rey, Mariano Sagasta, Giulia Scotto, Sara Sun
Construction
Partner: Chris van Duijn
Contract manager: Francois Riollot
Project leader: Francisco Martinez
Design team: Maria Aller Rey, Julien Miguel, Phelan Heinsohn, Jerome Picard, Jeanne Le Lièvre
Collaborators
Architecture: Barcode Architects, Clement Blanchet Architecture
Engineering: Iosis / Egis Batiments
Sustainability and facade: Elioth
Acoustic: RHDHV
Scenography: Ducks sceno
Renderings – moving images: ArtefactoryLab
Facade: Robert-Jan van Santen / VS-a group
Curtains: Inside Outside
Marble matters– exploring Carrara’s legacy
Sixteen young international architects took part in two intensive training days in Carrara, organized by FUM Academy and YACademy, featuring visits to the marble quarries and a design workshop focused on the use of the material.