FRAC Nord Pas de Calais
200best ES
Lacaton & Vassal
2013
Type
Cultural
Tags
cultural facilities, creative spaces, art spaces , 200Best, found objects
Visitability
Allowed
Description
When the architects visited the large AP2 naval building, they were overwhelmed by the amount of empty space. Instead of filling it with the new programme, they decided to build next to it a building of similar volume. As such, the old building preserves the memory of its past as a naval workshop and serves as a large multi-purpose hall for cultural events. The new building stands as a light, contemporary version of the old one. Its polycarbonate façade surrounds a different internal concrete structure, generating a thermal shock absorber, a space reminiscent of the winter gardens characteristic of Lacaton & Vassal’s residential architecture.Thanks to a careful selection of prefabricated materials, the studio was able to construct the twin building within the original budget, which had been set only for the renovation of the original building. In this way, it not only hosts the activities of the FRAC (an institution dedicated to the collection and dissemination of contemporary art), but also creates a space at the service of the local community.