An emblematic building in Lille, the Palais Rameau was built in 1878 thanks to the legacy of Charles Rameau, President of the Lille Horticultural Society. The project was entrusted to Lille architects Auguste Mourcou and Henri Contamine. Its architecture, based on the principle of a horticultural greenhouse, combines regional and oriental influences.
The city of Lille is handing over the Palais Rameau, by means of a 25-year emphyteutic lease, to JUNIA (Engineering school), which is giving it a new lease of life while respecting the soul of the place. With its listed historic building and impressive volumes, it has allowed us to imagine a place dedicated to higher education and is becoming the "Village Square" of JUNIA's campus.
JUNIA's ambition is to create an exemplary building, a virtuous construction, highly committed to sustainable development, and a demonstrator of urban agriculture.
The architectural proposal addresses a number of issues :
-Reversibility
-Modularity
-Sobriety
The Palais Rameau rehabilitation project is characterized by a holistic and sustainable approach. The project not only preserves and enhances the historic monument, but also creates an exemplary space for living, research and innovation, meeting contemporary needs while respecting the requirements of sustainability and flexibility.
Taking into account the heritage issues of the site, the question of the reversibility of the project was a key point. The building can be entirely dismantled and reversed, allowing the monument to be restored to its original state. An innovative and demonstrative architecture is proposed, through a modular and scalable project, designed to consider the future.
A system of primary structure (a skeleton of posts and beams) and secondary (partitions composed of removable modules) visible, make it possible to integrate the scalable dimension of the program.
Wood was an obvious choice, for reasons of respect for the building's heritage, reversibility and sobriety, as well as for its aesthetic and structural qualities.
More generally, most of the materials are bio-sourced (structure, floor, partition framework, insulation, natural rubber flooring, etc.), and with the cradle to cradle approach.
The poplar wood comes from the Nord region, less than 100 km from the Palais Rameau. It is processed nearby and installed by a company in the Lille metropolitan area. Poplar is a local wood that has only recently come into use in construction. In doing so, we are contributing to the development of this local industry: forest, sawmill, carpenter.
Different types of wood are used, thus creating a visual and material contrast: the post-beam structure is made of local glued laminated poplar, the partitioning is also in wood frame, all the floors are made of CLT panels in spruce wood.
The prefabrication and assembly of wooden modules reduces waste and the carbon footprint while ensuring the mutability and flexibility of spaces.
This approach not only respects the history and soul of the place, but also meets tomorrow's requirements in terms of sustainability, efficiency and flexibility of spaces.
The project's Cradle-to-Cradle approach aims to produce elements in a reasoned manner, without generating waste, while using materials that are healthy for humans and the environment: wood fiber, Fermacell, wood wool, spruce CLT, poplar glued laminated timber.
