Aparthotel Adagio, situated in the centre of Montpellier (France), is an eye-catching building, to say the least. Colour is a key element in the design of this Montpellier hotel and student residence. Architect firm BPA Architecture took up the challenge of transforming a plain concrete building into an impressive, modern-looking hotel, featuring a patchwork of Rockpanel Colours facade boards: a solution combining total design freedom and fire resilience.

A splash of colours

The idea of using colours – many colours – was present from the start of the project. Project architect Denis Boyer-Gibaud’s ambition was to create a building with impact, which offers different perceptions depending on the viewing point. Making the colourful facade an essential component of his project was a bold gamble for the designer.

The Rockpanel Colours range, offering an almost unlimited choice of different colour shades, was there to feed the architect’s inspiration. Architect Boyer-Gibaud collaborated with Helen De Leur, a designer specialising in colours: “When working with colour, composing them to find balance, contrast and setting is what matters.”

The result is quite spectacular. A lot of thought went into the way the facade boards were placed, ensuring a perfect rhythm of the colours.

A facade combining aesthetics and fire safety

Of course, fire safety also played a major role. The exterior cladding used meets the most stringent requirements in terms of fire resilience, without compromising on aesthetics and design.Made from the natural material basalt, a sustainable volcanic rock that’s one of the world’s most abundant resources, the Rockpanel boards give this building a very good reaction to fire, thus guaranteeing the safety of residents in the event of fire.