STATEMENT OF INTENT
Our assignment was to convert a seventeenth-century hospital and listed building into a university with the modern functionality that a university requires.
A SYMMETRICAL STRUCTURE
The main building, the Hôpital Général, comprises two courtyards located symmetrically along an axis that is materialised on the ground floor and first floor by a thick dividing wall. This wall separates the body of the main building lengthwise into two closed areas: the "women's wing" and the "men's wing".
So that the 1,500 people who will use the building can move around freely - an important factor for the proper functioning of the university - we chose to cut through this wall at ground-floor level and replace it with pillars at first-floor level. This becomes the pivotal element of the entire building, with large zones extending from one side to the other: the cafeteria on the ground floor, administration on the first floor, and the library on the second floor.
The axis of symmetry is thereby conserved, but this symmetry is structured around the open spaces that connect the different zones, and no longer around a solid wall that divides them. So as to reverse the entry sequence, the new foyer is located opposite the chapel which, while separate from the university, remains part of the whole. By aligning the entrance with the axis of the building, the geometric purity of its layout is restored. As specified in the brief, the building is now accessed from the Esplanade and no longer from Place Albert Ier.
By "opening up" the building this way, what was once a barrier is now fully integrated into the surrounding area.
THE ENTRANCE FACADE
The facades for the second floor and central section, which will later be extended, have been replaced by a glazed curtain wall, allowing light into the foyer and the library respectively.
As a contemporary counterpart to the existing staircase by the architect Giral, which has been conserved, a monumental staircase in white precast concrete, in addition to a lift, has been built in the new foyer. It extends, as though suspended, over three levels and leads directly to the offices on the first floor and to the library on the second floor.
THE TWO COURTYARDS
The even spacing of the windows in the facades onto the two courtyards has been conserved; openings above the breast wall are used as French windows to give access to the courtyard at ground-floor level, and on the first floor to the new passageways. These lightweight structures, which are supported by metal brackets embedded in the stone walls, have white concrete floors, a structural glass railing, and are protected by a glass canopy.
The two symmetrical courtyards, now connected by the passage created in the ground-floor central wing, have been landscaped with the utmost care, with precast, decorative concrete paving slabs along the perimeter, fine gravel under the trees for permeability, and sunken lights.
The magnificent, centennial chestnut trees provide welcome shade in summer. The original plane trees, because of disease, have been replaced by young trees, making this a sunnier courtyard which the students particularly appreciate in winter.
THE CAFETERIA
Colour brings the new architecture to the fore, with a sound-absorbing ceiling that mirrors the original semicircular vaults highlighted in blue on the "plane tree" side and in red on the "chestnut tree" side. Blue and red stripes of varying widths identify the openings made in the one-metre thick wall to connect the two areas. Service ducts for the cafeteria and kitchens are incorporated through the end walls which are lined with acoustic panels in perforated wood.
THE LECTURE HALLS
Conserving the ribbed vaults on the entire ground floor, and specifically in the lecture halls, imposed innovative solutions for fluid and electrical services.
- creation of conduits at ground-floor level for water, heating, electricity and ventilation installations
- subtle integration of audiovisual equipment and lighting
Acoustic comfort was achieved by means of suspended square tiles that respect the geometry of the vaults.
MAJOR RESTRUCTURING WORK AT LOW COST
The existing floors were either consolidated or demolished and cast in reinforced concrete.
For the facades, having demolished incoherent volumes and elements, eliminated incompatible materials, reinforced through injection, and removed existing joinery, we focused on reproducing the regular spacing of the openings and frames, and the horizontal mouldings perpendicular to each floor.
The existing roofing was removed to restore the original 37.5% pitch and barrel tiles.
These mammoth works were completed in 36 months at the very low cost of €1,280 exc. VAT/sq m of floor area, which also explains the sobriety of the materials.
CONVERSION OF THE AILE DES INCURABLES
In a second phase, the Aile des Incurables, on the same site, will be converted into a Maison des Sciences de l'Homme and a department of archaeology.
The building will provide, on the two upper floors, workspace for researchers and facilities for hosting international symposiums. This will require the creation, at ground-floor level, of seminar rooms and a lecture theatre… a seemingly impossible task given the dimensions and load-bearing structure of this eighteenth-century building. The site does, however, offer the advantage of its 5.30 metre ceiling height, where tiered seating for 100 people can be inserted in the 10.50 metre-wide central wing.
Extending the lecture theatre across the full width of this wing, adjacent to the entrance hall, means there can be no indoor circulation to the other areas.
Our solution is to add an enclosed gallery to the courtyard facade. This gallery functions much as a winter garden; glass louvres can be opened and closed to allow air to circulate in summer and heat to accumulate in winter. As well as allowing the building's users to circulate, sheltered from wind or rain, the gallery provides a natural meeting point for the entire wing.
Unlike the Hôpital Général, the Aile des Incurables is a "noble" stone construction with numerous decorative features such as medallions, string courses and sculpted cornices that must be restored. The small extension (200 sq m) is entirely sympathetic with the original building in its transparency and lightweight steel frame, as well as the glass louvres through which the renovated facade remains fully visible.
