In the heart of the Palais de l'Alma, Napoleon's former stables, the south garden, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, Atelier Régis Roudil Architectes have just completed a nursery for 24 cots, made of wood and rammed earth.

One of the challenges of this project was to carefully integrate it into this exceptional urban fabric in a way that respects the existing built urban environment, a powerful and monumental context with nearby iconic monuments, including the Eiffel Tower and the Musée du Quai Branly.

The site is located on a secluded piece of land and away from the urban hustle and bustle, where the Presidency of the Republic decided to schedule the construction of a nursery.
The design by Atelier Régis Roudil Architectes, is located inside the Palais de l'Alma, with its three patios, the central axis and an environment of volumes that allow us to immerse ourselves in a symmetrical architecture, the garden that Surrounding the new nursery is presented as a bucolic green lung in a stone context. Bounded to the south and west by two perimeter walls, the site subtly connects to the south with the Musée du Quai Branly garden, forming a coherent green whole.

The new building leaves a space to the south between the wall and the garden, and given the program it hosts, it does not have direct views towards or from the public space, using the notion of patio and introverted space that looks towards the garden, towards nature, which also inspired the choice of bio-based materials, raw earth and wood.

Earth is a qualitative and virtuous material that, of course, makes it possible to build, but above all it offers the possibility of embodying a truly sustainable relationship with the world and with the plot. As for wood, its qualities no longer need to be tested. It is a renewable resource that consumes little energy for its production and industrial transformation while contributing to the reduction of the greenhouse effect.
 


Child care centre in wood and rammed earth by Régis Roudil. Photograph by Florent Michel - 11h45.

Project description by Atelier Régis Roudil Architectes

In this monumental and powerful context, withdrawn and away from the urban hustle and bustle, the Presidency of the Republic decided to programme the construction of a nursery. Previously housed in an older, ill-adapted building on the rue de l’Elysée, its new position provides it with a genuine place of serenity. In the heart of the Palais de l’Alma, Napoleon’s former stables, the south garden allows the silence to resonate in welcoming this new facility.

Nearby monuments, notably the Eiffel Tower and the Musée du Quai Branly, although very different in their composition, each day tell us a story of the history of Paris. One of the challenges of this project was to carefully integrate it into this exceptional urban fabric in a way that respected the existing built heritage. But also, to stand alongside the qualities of a peaceful place where greenery dominates and to reveal its thick contours.

Inside the Palais de l’Alma, if the three courtyards, the central axis and the rational composition of the built volumes enable us to plunge into symmetrical architecture, the garden alone appears as a bucolic green lung in this stone context. Delimited to the south and the west by two perimeter walls, the project’s site subtly extends the south garden towards the one of the Musée du Quai Branly, designed by Gilles Clément. Together, they form a coherent green whole.

Child care centre in wood and rammed earth by Régis Roudil. Photograph by Florent Michel - 11h45.


Child care centre in wood and rammed earth by Régis Roudil. Photograph by Florent Michel - 11h45.


The volume of the child care centre and its exterior space extend from the perimeter wall all the way to the merry-go-round. To anchor the building to the site, a space is left to the south side between the wall and the garden and the nursery to allow access for security to make the rounds of the entire site. As this place is sensitive, owing to its purpose and its function, it has no direct views onto or from the public space. The notion of courtyard and introverted space is evoked. On the north side, the children’s garden is placed in direct contact with one of the Palais to offer users the enjoyment of a visual escape towards nature.

Our design, strengthened by this intimate relationship with nature, led us to imbue the elements with a telluric meaning, which naturally inspired the choice of bio-sourced materials. Both with the aim of respecting the client’s ambitious goals for the environment but also to anchor the project in a way that resonates with the materials of the garden. In this sense, the nursery is comprised of raw earth and wood.

Concerning the material of earth, this project makes it possible to envisage this resource, no longer as a simple excavation but rather as a construction material. Earth is a qualitative and virtuous material that of course makes it possible to build, but that especially offers the possibility of embodying a genuinely sustainable relationship with the world and savings that are resolutely anchored in its plot of land. As for wood, its qualities no longer need to be proven. It is a renewable resource that consumes little energy for its production and industrial transformation whilst also contributing to the reduction of greenhouse effect.

More information

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Architects
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Project team
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Régis Roudil, Charles Lacroix.
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Collaborators
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Structure.- Vessière.
Fluids engineer.- B52.
Economist.- ECO+.
Environmental engineer.- EODD.
Acoustics.- Viasonora.
SPC Coordinator.- Consilium IP.
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Client
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Présidence de la République.
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Area
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308 m².
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Dates
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Delivered in March 2022.
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Location
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11 quai Branly, 75007 Paris, France.
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Photography
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Régis Roudil Architectes, (August 20th 1985) is a French architecture studio founded by Régis Roudil, who graduated in 2008 from the Marseille School of Architecture, with the congratulations of the jury. After graduation, he headed for Nice, working in various studios in the city, including Atelier Comte et Vollenweider and Atelier Barani.

In 2013 she founded the Atelier Régis Roudil Architectes in Aix en Provence with public and private projects of different scales in areas such as architecture, urbanism, scenography, rehabilitation and interior design. At the same time and since 2014, he works as a temporary and contract professor at the Marseille School of Architecture. In 2017, he is co-founder of the KHORA collective (with EGR, Ivry Serres and Thibault Maupoint de Vandeul) which organizes an annual itinerant architecture seminar within the metropolis of Marseille, on the theme "the landscape of the city".

Awards
2022 Lauréat du prix d'A (GIG).
2022 Nomination au prix de l'Equerre d'Argent - catégorie Culture, Jeunesse et Sport (ALM).
2022 Nomination au prix d'A (ALM).
2022 Lauréat 1er prix régional construction bois Fibois Nouvelle Aquitaine (CAP).
2022 Finaliste prix national construction bois (CAP).
2022 Finaliste Trophée de la contruction - catégorie Logements collectifs (GIG).
2021 Nomination au prix AMO (ALL).
2021 Lauréat prix Archicote, catégorie Logements collectifs (GDH).
2019 Lauréat 40 under 40.
2018 Lauréat AJAP 2018.
2015 Lauréat prix de la première œuvre AMC Le Moniteur (LDR).
2015 Lauréat 1er prix régional construction bois Fibois Rhone Alpes (LDR).
2015 Lauréat 2e prix national construction bois Fibois (LDR).
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Published on: February 22, 2023
Cite: "Building with rammed earth in the center of Paris. Child care centre in wood and rammed earth by Régis Roudil" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/building-rammed-earth-center-paris-child-care-centre-wood-and-rammed-earth-regis-roudil> ISSN 1139-6415
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