Library of Looberghe | 2024

Renovation of the main building of the old town hall:
Development of a media library on the ground floor of the existing building.
Thermal insulation of the entire building (insulation from the inside of the facades and the roof).
Creation of access and a bay window on the exposed facade after demolition of the rear building.

Our objectives:
Highlight the main building which has contributed to the image of the village for over a century.
Maintain the appearance of the “mansion” typology of the building .
Highlight the set of 2 types of existing bricks: sand brick and red brick.
Liven up the rear façade with the creation of openings onto the forecourt and the park.

Extension – Creation of a new rear building:
A detached extension.
The program included an extension attached to the existing building. We preferred a detached extension to the existing building.

Our objectives:
Propose two buildings on a village scale rather than a single imposing building.
Possibility of creating a square between the 2 buildings: a public square for the village.
Enhancement of the built heritage of the old town hall by creating setback spaces.
A low building.
We limited the height of the new building to its strict minimum.

The roof is flat to minimize views of the remarkable environment of the site: the park and the church.
The ground floor level of the building is 35 cm lower than the level of the square and the ground floor level of the old town hall.
Limit the impact of the extension on its environment.
Open up views of the park and the tree line from the street and the square.
Open up views of the church and the old town hall building from the park.
A simple, robust and integrated building.
The facades are simple. The number of materials is limited, their choice is guided by a search for robustness, elegance and integration into the built environment.

Structured sand gray architectonic concrete – not smooth.
Concrete receiving treatment after pouring (deactivated or sanded) to obtain a rough appearance. The color will recall the color of the sand bricks used for many buildings in the village and in particular for the Saint-Martin church adjoining the site (reconstructed in the 18th century).
Exterior joinery – anthracite gray lacquered aluminum.

Our objectives:
Integrate into the existing fabric.
Offer a building with an identity, in correlation with its central function in the village, without ostentation.
Propose a building open to the outside, which participates in its environment by letting light and views pass through it.
The building is fully modular. Large glass walls slide to provide 1 to 4 rooms; 22 configurations are possible.

Our objectives:
Offer a multitude of configurations that will respond to changing needs over the course of a week or a school year.
Offer the possibility of regularly reinventing the way the building is used.
Anticipate the obsolescence of a program by offering a building capable of constantly reinventing itself.
Layout.
A base is created to connect the two buildings. This base serves, in compliance with PMR regulations, the main access points to the equipment. This base, this ground is unitary; treated with acidic or deactivated concrete, it is robust and of quality.

A square.
A square is created between the two buildings. This square constitutes a new urban part of the village: a square.

Category:Schools and UniversitiesLocation:FranceArchitect: Adrien Coste, FranceDesign Team: Adrien Coste, Guillaume ViennePhotographer: Alt174 architecture