Vettiner Block, FR - Bouliac, 2023
Vettiner Block
In a modern urban setting, on the edge of a hill, overlooking the Garonne River and the entrance to the town, this new building needed to underline its presence and purpose. Our project is the result of a contextual and unique consideration of the potential resonance between history and the possibilities of a location. The proposed building, which accompanies the town and looks out onto the landscape, aims to bring several purposes together under the same roof: discussion, sharing, strolling, relaxing and eating. The challenge here is neither formal or synthetic: it is a poetic link between the town, the shadow of a garden, the hilly landscape and contemporary architecture. In this context, it is about drawing on this identity formed by the town of Bouliac. The thematic park structures the entire project. It is established over sequences defined by the relief, uses and views. The project exploits the gradient with a set of terraces created with fill. The terrace garden accompanies the slope along the new street. Vegetation plays an essential role in the project and the accompanying environmental approach. The new orchard offers a selection of carefully chosen species, both for their landscape and environmental interest and their adaptation to the surroundings. The project works alongside the arrangement of neighbouring buildings through “calm” geometry, drawing its strength from its horizontality and its link to the ground. It limits itself to the scale of the surrounding buildings. A large covering layer over the built spaces (retail, technical facilities, etc.) and the hall’s empty space. This light cover folds back to offer a strong and elegant geometric shape, and to create calling points. This building is a beacon for the retail buildings, the hall, the entrance to the town. It provides a social, collective, intergenerational link where each user has their place. It is not about mimicking the past, but acting as a passing point towards modernity and fitting into the surroundings without disrupting the landscape. It is this modesty and its rigorous composition which allows it to offer a silent but open presence in the town of Bouliac.