Archello Awards 2024 has revealed its longlist for its projects of the year categories. The longlists celebrate the very best building products, architecture projects and firms selected from over 1,000 entries for the second edition of Archello's annual awards program.
Park-and-Ride Bus Station: longlisted for Transportation Hub of the Year
Paris-based ateliers O-S architectes (Vincent Baur, Guillaume Colboc, and Gaël Le Nouëne) has completed the Cesson-Viasilva Park-and-Ride Bus Station in the north-western French city of Rennes. The distinctive 32,000-square-meter (344,445-square-feet) station is a key part of the city’s sustainable mobility initiatives.
“The project was designed for the comfort of its users and to support the development of new energies in an architectural style that positions this facility as a center of attraction in the district,” explains ateliers O-S architectes. The station’s design embraces a future-focused and flexible structural arrangement; moreover, the design updates the stereotyped image of an outer suburban car park with its bold, contemporary aspect.
Rennes places a strong focus on sustainability and innovation — the city has set ambitious goals to reduce CO2 emissions and advance the use of green technology. O-S architectes’ design for the new Park-and-Ride Bus Station carefully integrates the project into its environment by meeting the challenges of sustainable development faced by cities: the roof supports a large solar power plant, low-energy lighting is in use, and there are 200 bicycle parking spaces as well as spaces for electric cars.
The station comprises two buildings that are closely interlinked. The first building has a triangular form with rounded angles — its metal framework is clad in anodized metal strips that filter light. This smaller and entirely open building houses the access and exit ramps to the park-and-ride facilities and a storage area for bikes.
The second building’s oblong rectangular form accommodates a bus station with thirteen platforms on the ground floor; park-and-ride facilities with 815 spaces are located on the upper floors — one-way circulation with a width of 6 meters (20 feet) eases navigation. This larger building is covered with opalescent plate-glass blades that soften its overall physical appearance. The structure is built using both prefabricated and cast-in-place concrete, providing a variety of textures and finishes. O-S architectes’ concrete design incorporates a generous framework that ensures future adaptations are possible.
The bus station’s concrete colonnade anchors the main building and connects with the public realm. A ceiling clad in strips of larch wood provides a warm contrast to the concrete.
Parking levels are accessed via a core vertical circulation that provides efficient access to the forecourt, bus station, and a nearby metro station; the building is served by four lifts.
Summarizing the project, O-S architectes says: “It is an infrastructure building that seeks to go beyond its function, offering a different image from a conventional car park through the treatment of its facades and its organization.”
