Dupont's
Benedictus Award won by Romantic Summer Pavilion in Burgundy, France
In the mid 1990s, an eighteenth-century folly near Avalon, in the Burgundy
region of France, was converted into a small summer residence for a Dutch
neurologist and his wife, an art historian.
Architect Dirk Jan Postel of Rotterdam was retained to build a laminated
glass skylight for the converted folly in 1997. However, while inspecting
the site with its owner, the architect accidentally discovered a former
gunpowder vault in a bridge land head. Enchanted, the client agreed to
transform the vault into a guest room.
The
result is an elegant and simple, laminated glass pavilion named 'The temple
of love' by the architect, which serves as romantic guest quarters to
the main summer residence.
Postel explained: 'We excavated 2.5 m of limestone to create an access
to the vault. The concept was to create a 'belvedere' (a pavilion for
the contemplation of nature, used principally in summer). The belvedere
is situated at the raised level of the former railway bridge, so there
was the potential to give guests extensive views to the river and beyond,
across the wonderful Burgundy landscape.'
Laminated glass used to 'extend the space'
Postel said: 'From the start, we wanted to avoid invasive construction
barriers to the views. We wanted to extend to the maximum the natural
space of the track and the bridge. We chose laminated glass to house the
pavilion because of the material's transparency and because it enhances
the beauty of the existing stonework. Laminated glass provides the best
safety and clarity. Importantly, it is the only type of glass with sufficient
safety and strength for the vertical glazing. The result is that the roof
too becomes part of the 'endless space' that you perceive from the inside.
You really feel that you are 'flying in space', that you are in close
communion with the nature all around you, which is exactly the effect
we wanted to achieve!'
The
goal of the design is to make the roof appear to be 'floating on nothing',
as the architect put it. Laminated glass was the material of choice in
order to avoid barriers and extend the space. The architect refused to
apply steel cross-bars for structural stability and found the solution
instead by fixing laminated glass panels directly into the ground. The
detailing is coherent, unobtrusive and minimal, and looks as though the
glass is cut directly into the stone. As well as structural strength,
laminated glass was chosen for its safety and clarity.
The pavilion's cantilevered roof consists of a timber stressed skin construction
weighing about 2,000 kg. Two laminated glass panels on either side carry
the roof's load. Lateral stability and the ground fixings are provided
by two laminated, toughened glass panels; each panel is 2.3 m high. Four
smaller side-panels of laminated glass contribute to rotational stability,
while four toughened glass doors give access to the pavilion and allow
for ventilation. A laminated glass hatch covers a manhole to the former
vault, providing light to the room below.
Postel said that one of the most difficult parts of the construction was
the roof, which was built first and raised above scaffolding which would
allow the glass perimeter to be built. The roof was carefully lowered
onto the glass to evenly build up the pressure of the construction.
The Rotterdam-based architect worked in association with an all-Dutch
team that included structural engineer Rob Nijsse of Velp, glazing firm
Alverre of Almelo and laminator Scheuten of Venlo.
The 2002 DuPont Benedictus Awards judges said: 'We were struck by the
poetic clarity in the new as juxtaposed against the old, dramatically
aided by the use of laminated glass as the total supporting structure.
The juxtaposition is carefully carved out, with great simplicity. We do
not know of a finer example of the use of laminated glass as a total structural
element.
'The absence of all interfering elements is interesting. It's a fine example
of historic preservation. There is a great clarity concerning what is
old and new; one could even call it minimalist historic preservation.
One aspect highlights and strengthens the other.'
http://www.dupont.com/safetyglass/lgn/stories/2101.html
TGV
Station in Avignon, France: Runner up for Dupont's Benedictus Award 2002
A series of four new stations between Paris and Marseilles for France's
TGV (Trains de Grand Vitesse) high-speed train network was commissioned
in 1998 from Paris-based J.M. Duthilleul, Francois Bonnefille and Etienne
Tricaud, architects with AREP, the architectural branch of France's Société
Nationale des Chemins de Fer (SNCF).
The
Avignon station (completed: 2001) is innovative in that it is built to
accommodate the entire 340 m length of the 'double TGV' train; ticketed
passengers are allotted the space on the platform nearest their booked
train seat in order to minimize bustle and stress. Waiting for - and alighting
from - trains, in the midst of the lovely, lavender-filled views and Provencale
light that floods from the transparent, laminated glass north façade,
has never been so pleasurable an experience. The north façade of
glass curves up from the ground, continuing into the roof to meet the
south façade, which is made of concrete. While giving a maximum
feeling of openness, the glazed façade shelters passengers 'invisibly'
from the famous Mistral wind and rain and the hot, Mediterranean sun.
Curved façade and roof of laminated glass
Working with architectural engineers RFR of Paris, contractor The Gartner
Group of The Netherlands and laminator Glaverbel of Belgium, Duthilleul
and his associates at AREP designed a curved façade and wall of
laminated glass with spectacular effect.
Architect
Bertrand Toussaint of RFR explained: 'Because of the widespread use of
glass, the accumulated force of the hot sun on the walls and roof amounts
to no less than 1,000 Watts per hour! However, the laminated glass construction
with its ceramic frit reduces this heat build-up to 350 Watts per hour,
which translates into a pleasant ambient temperature for people inside
the station. The laminated glass construction reduces air conditioning
bills substantially, so that the station only requires air freshening,
which uses significantly less energy.' The end walls of the platform are
constructed of laminated glass sliding doors, to complete the feeling
of openness. The south façade of concrete keeps out the worst of
the sun's heat and glare.
The use of laminated glass means that the design team could meet safety
legislation regarding horizontal glazing and seismic loading, important
since Provence is subject to minor earthquakes. The use of a progressive
white ceramic frit and a Low-E coating within the north-oriented, laminated
glass facade means that the facade is transparent at eye level, while
glare from the sun is prevented where the frit is most dense, at ceiling
level.
RFR's Toussaint said: 'The curved form of the façade is generated
by the intersection of two toroidal surfaces; the façade curves
vertically up from the ground to the roof, and the railway track is also
curved. The intersection of the two tori results in the unusual geometry
of the Avignon station's building envelope. The building tapers towards
the ends, corresponding with a decreasing number of passengers along the
platform. It ultimately ends in a low profile that reconciles the building
with the wide-open landscape. This complex geometry makes way for the
successful interface between the multiple construction systems used.'
Laminated glass panels overlap each other, covering an invisible, triangular
steel frame that forms the superstructure for the opaque and transparent
skins of the station.
The 2002 DuPont Benedictus Awards judges said: 'There is an openness about
this long, linear platform space, which would otherwise be a corridor
experience. The opaque and transparent glass walls are set off against
each other in a handsome way.'
http://www.dupont.com