PROJECT CONCEPTION
The Marie Paradis gymnasium is a key element in the urban renewal of Le Bourget. Destined to become a major sports facility for climbing and handball, it will initially serve as a warm-up and training site for athletes engaged in the climbing events at the Paris 2024 Games. Designed for legacy, it will then be bequeathed to the town of Le Bourget, benefit local associations and host international climbing and inter-regional handball competitions.
AN AMBITIOUS SPORTS FACILTIY IN A STRATEGIC LOCATION
By including the communes of Le Bourget, Dugny and La Courneuve in the Media Cluster ZAC, the arrival of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games has identified the lack of sports facilities and programs in this booming area. Against this backdrop, SOLIDEO has embarked on a major redevelopment of the Parc des Sports du Bourget, at the interface between the existing neighborhoods of Le Bourget and the new neighborhoods of Dugny. The aim is to accommo- date modern facilities and become a place for activities, meetings and gatherings. To this end, a footbridge has been built over the A1 freeway to enable pedestrians and cyclists to link the site to the Media Village and the Paris-Le Bour- get Exhibition Centre. The creation of this new centrality has enabled Le Bourget to embark on its transformation.
Destined to become a major sports facility for climbing and handball, the gymnasium is equipped with a multi- sports hall, three climbing structures (bouldering, difficulty and speed walls), a 250-seat grandstand and 10 chan- ging rooms. The whole complex covers a total surface area of 3,000 m2.
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN : THE AMBITIONS OF AN OLYMPIC FACILITY IN TUNE WITH THE TIMES
As an Olympic facility, the Marie Paradis gymnasium meets SOLIDEO’s environmental requirements, reflec- ting the challenges of sustainable design for tomorrow’s buildings : carbon footprint management, circular eco- nomy, bioclimatic design and reduced energy consump- tion. The building is exemplary, and has been awarded the HQE certification for sports facilities at the Excellent level.
MONOLITHIC ARCHITECTURE, LANDMARK FIGURE
Simple and sober in structure and composition, the project blends perfectly into its environment. Great attention is paid to architectural clarity and volume- tric simplicity. The project is distinguished by its mo- nolithic appearance, both anchored and airy, which stands out like a landmark in the park landscape. The building is clad in brick facades that are brought to life by a subtle interplay of solids, voids and mou- charabiehs. It rises slightly above the park’s public spaces. Clad in metal cladding evokes a precious, mysterious object set in the landscape, like a nug- get framed by greenery. Its uniform, precious skin of corrugated aluminum changes the perception of the building according to the viewpoint, the path of the sun and the mood of the seasons. At night- fall, the gymnasium lights up in the heart of the park. The building’s interior is in harmony with its envelope, thanks to the choice of natural, durable materials. Natu- ral lighting, filtered according to orientation, generous volumes and the ambience generated by the raw mate- rials make for a serene, warm and welcoming environ- ment.
MATERIALS
Brick: the base of the building is clad in brick. This ma- terial, emblematic of Le Bourget’s industrial past and already present on the facades of public facilities in the area, lends a mineral quality to the project while pres- erving the urban homogeneity. Its white color creates an abstraction that sets the building in the landscape.
Aluminum: the building’s emergence gets a raw aluminum metal cladding, which catches the light and sparkles in the sunlight, reflecting the sky and clouds, interacting with its surroundings.
Wood: lending a warm, welcoming character, wood is present in the structure and in all areas of the gymna- sium. The various structures were designed using 100% French wood, with frames from Rumilly (Haute-Savoie) and panels from Loulay (Charente-Maritime).
TIMBER FRAME, ARCHITECTURAL HEART OF THE PROJECT
As a structural element of the sports hall, the timber truss frame was the architectural heart of the project from the very first sketches. The framework rests on 7 beams, 35 metres long and 2.5 metres high, each weighing 12 tonnes, or 220 m3 of wood. This bio-sourced material was chosen for its many qualities: > It optimizes the weight of the structure, while gua- ranteeing the span required for the gymnasium, > Its factory prefabrication reduces the time requi- red to install the structure, generates less waste and noise on site, and reduces on-site water consumption, > It reduces the carbon footprint by a factor of 3 to 10 compared with other materials, such as concrete or steel.
CONCEPTION OF A SPORT FACILITY
Organization
The Marie Paradis gymnasium is a multi-purpose sports facility with a rigorous, functional organization. The buil- ding is made up of zones that can be easily separated or combined with one another to ensure clear, optimal flow management.
Volumetry
On the one hand, the zoning plan imposed a height limit of 15 metres. On the other hand, the program imposed a minimum internal clearance height of 12 meters, cor- responding to the “high difficulty” characteristics requi- red for the climbing wall, due to its use as a training venue for the 2024 Olympic Games. These prerequisites, combined with the project’s smooth insertion into the park’s topography, give rise to the project’s volumetry.
Envelope performance
Thermal comfort: façades insulated from the outside with rock wool panels and green roofs contribute to the energy efficiency of the entire project. To gua- rantee summer comfort, generous glazed surfaces were installed on the east facade and occasionally on the south facade, guaranteeing natural lighting while limiting overheating. The presence of sheds on the roof reinforces this feature.
Green roofs: green roofs (60% of the project’s roofs) play an essential role in the ecosystemic management of the project site, helping to manage rainwater and promote biodiversity. On the timber frame, the 8-centimeter substrate is thick enough to encourage rainwater infiltration. On concrete roofs, an 80-centimeter-thick substrate accommodates denser, more diverse vegetation, an ideal refuge for the development of biodiversity.
Photovoltaic panels: in line with the program, 60% of hot water production is provided by 250 m2 of pho- tovoltaic panels installed on the slopes of the main roof sheds. This type of energy supply is all the more relevant for a structure used in summer, when the pho- tovoltaic panels operate at their best.
INTEGRATION INTO THE LANDSCAPE
The Parc des Sports dialogues with the wider landscape, continuing the city-park system in which architecture and landscape are intimately linked and inseparable. In the same vein, the multisport complex makes the transition from the urban to the heart of the park. With its perennial meadows, wooded hedges and green roof, the gymnasium offers a protected, generous and easy-to-maintain space for biodiversity, thanks to the choice of a simple, effective plant palette drawn from local observations in the Ile-de-France region. A path and staircase follow the curves of the site and run alongside the gymnasium, which becomes a topogra- phical building. Walkers can enjoy a bird’s-eye view into the gymnasium through the wide openings lining the promenade leading to the footbridge linking Le Bour- get to Dugny.
Team:
Client: Solideo
Architects: archi5
Landscaper: archi5
Wooden framework: Arbonis
Climbing wall: Pyramide
Main contractor: Colas Bâtiment
Enginneer: Facéa
Environmental engineer: AI Environnement
Photography: Sergio Grazia
