EDF Archives Centre | LAN Architecture
Premio Internazionale Architettura Sostenibile Fassa Bortolo 2012 - Medaglia d'Argento Bure / France / 2011
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This building, symbol of the long term and visible presence of EDF in the Meuse and Haute Marne region, hosts the company’s industrial records. Within the framework of the Meuse and Haute Marne economic support programme, EDF has decided to centralise all its intermediary
Engineering Production Management archives in Bure-Saudron.
Until now, these paper copy archives had been stored in nuclear, hydraulic and thermal production units, as well as in engineering units and associated services. The new centre allows the documents’ organisation and it also ameliorates the storage and the utilisation processes. These archives, on paper-based and microfilm-based formats, will occupy about 70 km of shelves. The building has also a laboratory for
micro-films, specifically designed for this purpose.
The concept
We realised a five level, 19 m high building within a plot of 3.30 hectares
comprehensive of an archives area covering approximately 1,400 m² and a total surface of approximately 7,000 m².This approach results in:
- considerable saving in terms of the building’s envelope
- improved functionality translated by a reduced number of kilometres covered per year,
- a marginal impact on the landscape (with view points at a considerable
distance from the building),
- the possibility of a maximum use of the excavated land around the
building’s footprint to control water recuperation and treatment on the site,
- an energetically and environmentally extremely high performance building,
- the creation of a symbol representative of the approach taken by the Mouse and Haute Marne economic support programme.
The typology
An archives storage building needs to have a considerable inertia with a
minimal exchange with its external setting. The need for fast and simple
site management and optimum storage efficiency led us to develop a simple and rational layout.
The building is divided into 2 programmes: archives and offices.
The archives’ part is composed by 20 storehouses of 200 m² each; with
regulated temperature and hygrometry. The blocks can resist fire for 2 hours and they are equipped with a sprinkling system.
The offices’ part is N/W oriented, embedded in a natural slope planted
with trees and plants. The offices have an ideal view on the surrounding
landscape.
The landscape
Tree-planted surfaces give some advantages: from an ecological point of view the trees protect the building against climatic issues.
From an aesthetical point of view - and within an idea of landscape integration- they complete the building by inserting a pattern recurring from the landscape: the “merlons”, narrow strips of land planted with hardwoods. The project of the landscape foresees the framing of the views from the offices by planting vegetable masses. Some framings already exist from the highway in the project’s direction. A game of sequences is set in combination with the architectural plan in order to vary the visuals and to put an accent on the building’s
continuity with its landscape.
Energy
Heat production is principally based on renewable energies and a heat pump. The choice made for the ventilation was to use a double flow ventilation system with heat recuperation. This limits energy consumption
resulting from heating and ensures the good sanitary quality of the air.
Low voltage luminaries will result in considerable savings in terms of
internal loads. Storage areas will be equipped with
presence detectors. The high performance of the envelope combined with economic ventilation and lighting systems reduces energy requirements. The use of renewable energies and a heat pump will result in a high level of energy autonomy. The total power consumed by the
building represents 29 kWh/m².
The building’s envelope
To give the impression of a lightweight building in movement, we proposed incorporating stainless steel studs into the earth-coloured concrete cladding. This solution had the effect of blurring the building’s limits and reflecting the surrounding colours and changing
seasons. The envelope has a very high performance resulting from the
materials employed and the technology used for attaching the concrete facing (reduced thermal bridges). The combination of two layers of
concrete (structure + facing) and insulation (30 cm) ensures that the
building has a high level of inertia favouring comfort during the summer
and reduces cooling requirements.
The facade
The elevations will incorporate a total of 120,000 stainless steel studs.
Stainless steel studs (7 cm diameter and 1 mm thick) will be incorporated
into the formwork during the casting of the integrally coloured prefabricated concrete elevation panels. The panels will be 15.65 m high
and either 2.26 m or 2.33 m wide depending on whether they are on the
long or short side of the building. The 8 cm thick panels will be
reinforced with concrete ribbing (+ 7 cm). The complex will be suspended
from reinforced concrete walls and held in position using distancing jacks. The elevations will have a total thickness of 68 cm.
The facade’s building process was the subject of a patent.
The offices
Axonometric view of the ground floor The side of the building occupied by
the offices is structured starting from the patio, which creates a strictly
visual relation with the archives’ area and carries more natural light to
the court’s corridors. The working space (individual and collective)
are completely transparent to take advantage of the view, the light and
landscape colours.
The archives
They are located on 4 different floors.
The different archives are divided on a trasversal and nevralgic line where we can find the elevators, the technical rooms and security exits.
This large corridors (3 meters) permits the exchange of flux without creating difficults of passage.
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This building, symbol of the long term and visible presence of EDF in the Meuse and Haute Marne region, hosts the company’s industrial records. Within the framework of the Meuse and Haute Marne economic support programme, EDF has decided to centralise all its intermediary Engineering Production Management archives in Bure-Saudron. Until now, these paper copy archives had been stored in nuclear, hydraulic and thermal production units, as well as in engineering units and associated services. The...
- Year 2011
- Work started in 2010
- Work finished in 2011
- Main structure Reinforced concrete
- Status Completed works
- Type Research Centres/Labs
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