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The Antipode cultural hub is committed to popular education and firmly rooted in its local community

Dominique Coulon & associés

Culture  /  Completed
Dominique Coulon & associés

The cultural hub Antipode is constructed in the new concerted development zone of the eco-district of La Courrouze, two kilometers away from the historic center of Rennes with very good tramways and soft mobility connections. Urban planners Secchi and Vigano organized the various programmes like large islets flooded by vegetation. The site is a vast territory on which were historically armament factories. To make its memory last, some walls have been preserved as well as large trees that punctuate the horizon.

The project is part of a very open urban landscape. The building is flooded with greenery in this wooded universe, a phenomenon that will increase with time. The structure will reveal itself through the large oak trees, a filtered vision through the canopy. Like a castle in its park, the building, as if concealed, will emerge through this vegetal universe. For this wealthy programme, the objective was to weave relationships between very different architectural elements.

Energy management:
- Building orientation (natural light)
- Green roof (cooling)
- Wall thickness to ensure thermal comfort
- Reinforced airtightness

Eco-responsibility
- Low environmental impact
- Waste management
- Use of sustainable wood (PEFC or FSC)
- Particleboard with minimum E2 rating
- Application for Emicode EC2 label for glues and varnishes
- European eco-label paint
- Water-saving appliances
- Optimized wastewater management

Durability
- Concrete structure (over 50 years of durability)
- Coating on external insulation (maintenance-free, 14-year durability)

The agora connects blocks as different as a current music scene, a media library, music rehearsal spaces, a Youth cultural center, music and recording studios, dance rooms and a creation and rehearsal space. The challenge was to bring them all together while taking advantage of the unusual proximity of such cultural services. Around a central agora with an added patio, the spaces are intermingled, fused so that it connects the elements of the plan intended for public use such as the bar, the exhibition space or the conference room. The building covers the site generously and occupies the entire plot. The spaces seem to be positioned side by side with no apparent hierarchy. The project is drawn like an extended and compact mass from which the empty spaces have been removed. The natural light irrigates the spaces thanks to the four patios and some terraces. The visitor is constantly drawn to these interior exteriors which stand as landmarks. The empty zones visible in the sectional arrangement and the numerous sectional drawings create micro-spaces. The almost maze like layouts reveal the complexity of the interweaving programmes and their layers. Like a Raum, the unusual scaled plan emphasizes an apparent absence of hierarchy. The crossings and intertwining paths are aimed at better highlighting the programmes.

"The new Antipode in Rennes is a magnificent facility dedicated to art and culture, linking the Cleunay and Courrouze districts. It's a lively place, open to all, with an MJC, a contemporary music scene and a local library. Since its creation, it has inspired several generations of Rennais. Today, the new building breathes new life into this militant initiative, committed to popular education and firmly rooted in its local community. " Nathalie Appéré - Mayor of the city

Credits

 Rennes
 Francia
 City of Rennes
 Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library
 03/2022
 3900 mq
  11,889,921.00 €
 Architects: Dominique Coulon, project supervision : Hugo Maurice, assistant architects: Lukas Unbekandt, Thibaut Muller, Diego Bastos-Romero and Olivier Poulat, site supervision: Hugo Maurice.
 Technical design office – Structure: Batiserf Ingénierie, technical design office – electricity: BET G. Jost, technical design office – fluids: BET Louis Choulet, economist : E3 Économie, scenographer: Atelier Sophie Thomas, acoustician: Euro Sound Project, landscape architect: Bruno Kubler
 Structural work: Rougeot/ Waterproofing: SEO / Exterior carpentry: Miroiterie 35/ Locksmithing: Alphamétal / Exterior painting: Tiriault / Scaffolding: Entrepose/ Plasterer: Brel / Interior carpentry: Dupre / Acoustic veneer: Dupre / Tile/glued floor: Mar
 Eugeni Pons

Curriculum

Located in the heart of Strasbourg, the architecture firm enjoys national and international renown.

For more than twenty-five years, the agency has earned a reputation for the quality of the public facilities it designs. It has worked on a wide and varied range of programmes, including a media library, music school, auditorium, school complex, swimming pool, sports facilities, a residential home for the dependent elderly, and housing.

Dominique Coulon and his associate Steve Lethos Duclos allow their intuition to lead the way as they seek to develop contextual projects that combine contrast and complexity, where the outer envelope hints at inner richness. Spatial quality and natural light are fundamental elements in every project: space is always controlled by precise geometry.


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