Refurbishment of a Student Residence in Nantes / Guinée et Potin Architects

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This formal intention, in addition to its impact, symbolically crystallizes the Cité Universitaire's restructuring and renovation program and composes the generous image of a real estate complex on the scale of the district.Text description provided by the architects.The design of the extension to the university campus proposes an "articulation" following a simple, clear geometry, linking the various fragmented entities. This articulation clings to the existing buildings and connects the two existing and preserved buildings, stretching out from the entrance forecourt/hall. Its layout and geometry make it easy to structure the boundaries between the "urban" front and the "landscaped" rear. In keeping with this idea, it is the whole of the building that naturally shapes the exterior spaces.In this way, the simplicity of this articulation enhances the renovated existing building to create a unified, homogeneous whole. In addition, the new green and grey tones of these elements qualitatively reveal the historical and landscape singularities of this site, dotted with gardens, despite the urbanization of the nearby city center. Opening up to the imagination, this architectural composition offers a graphic and singular potential.The building envelops and structures. Thus, planted areas are no longer residual spaces cohabiting with dull, closed facades, but with a chromatic vis-à-vis organized by strong transparencies and a graphic requalification of existing facades. The existing façades, in the "hard French" style of modernist architecture by André Guillou and Pierre Doucet architects, retain their original checkerboard, "honeycomb" appearance in favor of more generous, higher-quality joinery elements, and reinforced insulation to meet thermal performance targets.