Blue and White. Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés
03/12/2014.
[Bagneux] France
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
The aim of the remodeling and expansion, in this swimming pool in the Paris suburb of Bagneux and overseen by Strasbourg studio Dominique Coulon et Associés, was to increase and modernise the facilities available to the community of Bagneux, while ensuring the addition ties in with the first building from 1950s.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © Clément Guillaume.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © Clément Guillaume.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © Clément Guillaume.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © David Romero-Uzeda.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © Clément Guillaume.
Diagram. Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés.
Site plan. Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés.
First floor plan. Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés.
First floor plan bis. Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés.
Ground floor plan. Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés.
Section. Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés.
Section. Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © Clément Guillaume.
Swimming Pool refurbishment by Dominique Coulon et Associés. Photography © Clément Guillaume.
"Preserving the original building helped reduce the cost of the project by 40 percent," said the architect Dominique Coulon, adding that the intelligent combination of new and existing facilities also provided energy savings.
Description of project by Dominique Coulon et Associés
The purpose of our project, in an urban redevelopment area, is to transform the building’s image.
The refurbishment and extension form a harmonious mineral body. The extension is in light grey concrete, and the original building, with external insulation, is faced with cement in the same shade. This minerality is continued through to the hall floor, in Lucerne quartzite laid as opus incertum.
The scale of the new building, reinforced in this way, displays its strong urban presence. Its large cantilever and forecourt provide a generous amount of public space. A play of light recalls the reflection in the water on the east facade. The exterior signing is on the same scale as the building, and the archway serves as a giant sun-break.
The project creates a break in time, with unforgettable ambiances, soft lighting, fluid architectural promenades, and curves replacing right-angles.
The distribution area is flooded with unusual blue-tinged aquatic light, provided by a horizontal porthole in the bottom of the children’s paddling area. The light changes with the movement of the water. The space of the double-height relaxation area is encompassed by curved shapes; an attractive rounded window frames the view of the garden.
The architecture of the existing large area (two pools) is conserved. The incline of the structure is emphasised; the subtle play of oblique lines also adds a contemporary touch.
The paddling pool offers children the feeling of being wrapped in a cocoon. The area is curved, which reduces sound reverberation naturally. The tall bay window floods the small round pool with sunlight. The place is designed to appeal to children’s imagination.
The large terrace is treated like a beach, with a tall concrete safety guard providing bathers with privacy. This is a place for discovery, in harmony with the ergonomics of the body.
More information
Architects
Project team
Architect In Charge.- Dominique Coulon, Benjamin Rocchi, Architects, Arnaud Eloudyi, Sarah Brebbia, Gautier Duthoit, Architects assistants.
Structural Engineer.- Batiserf Ingénierie.
Mechanical Electrical Plumbing Engineer.- Alto Ingénierie.
Cost Estimator.- E3 Economie.
Acoustics.- Euro Sound Project.
Construction Site Supervision.- Agence Olivier Werner.
Structural Engineer.- Batiserf Ingénierie.
Mechanical Electrical Plumbing Engineer.- Alto Ingénierie.
Cost Estimator.- E3 Economie.
Acoustics.- Euro Sound Project.
Construction Site Supervision.- Agence Olivier Werner.
Area
3431.00 sqm.
Dates
Year.- 2014.
Budget
8,038,000 euros.
Client
Communauté d’agglomération Sud de Seine.
Location
1 Avenue de Stalingrad, 92220 Bagneux, France.
Photography
Dominique Coulon
Dominique Coulon & associés. Located in the heart of Strasbourg, Dominique Coulon & Associés is a firm of architects of national and international renown.
For more than 25 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 three associates Steve Lethos Duclos, Olivier Nicollas and Benjamin Rocchi 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.
The agency has received many awards and distinctions: firstly in 1996 with the Prix de la Première Oeuvre for the ‘Pasteur’ lower secondary school in Strasbourg, followed by a number of nominations for the Équerre d’Argent award in 1999, 2002 and 2003. In 2006 it was a prize-winner in the PEB1 Compendium of Exemplary Educational Establishments organised by the OECD, for the ‘Martin Peller’ school complex in Reims. In 2008 it was nominated for the BSI Swiss Architectural Award and for the European Union prize awarded by the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, for the National Drama Centre in Montreuil. It has received a Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award on three occasions. In 2014, it won the Pool Vision Contest prize in the ‘public pools’ category, for the swimming pool in Bagneux. In 2017 it received the first prize in the Eiffel Trophies rewarding steel architecture, for the Media Library (Third Place) in Thionville, and was nominated for the European Union prize awarded by the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, for the residential home for the dependent elderly and the residential centre for handicapped people in Orbec.
For more than 25 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 three associates Steve Lethos Duclos, Olivier Nicollas and Benjamin Rocchi 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.
The agency has received many awards and distinctions: firstly in 1996 with the Prix de la Première Oeuvre for the ‘Pasteur’ lower secondary school in Strasbourg, followed by a number of nominations for the Équerre d’Argent award in 1999, 2002 and 2003. In 2006 it was a prize-winner in the PEB1 Compendium of Exemplary Educational Establishments organised by the OECD, for the ‘Martin Peller’ school complex in Reims. In 2008 it was nominated for the BSI Swiss Architectural Award and for the European Union prize awarded by the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, for the National Drama Centre in Montreuil. It has received a Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award on three occasions. In 2014, it won the Pool Vision Contest prize in the ‘public pools’ category, for the swimming pool in Bagneux. In 2017 it received the first prize in the Eiffel Trophies rewarding steel architecture, for the Media Library (Third Place) in Thionville, and was nominated for the European Union prize awarded by the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, for the residential home for the dependent elderly and the residential centre for handicapped people in Orbec.
