An office building with brilliant colours and a striped appearance
Located in the Hippocrate Commercial Area to the east of Montpellier, the Fahrenheit building accommodates several businesses and medical offices. This refined and HQE-certified architectural design blends elegantly into its environment.
Resolutely modern, striking and sustainable
The A+ Architectural firm, commissioned by the developer Agir Promotion, chose natural materials with high environmental ratings in order to develop a new approach for the buildings insulation and cladding. “ROCKPANEL façade board material was selected following the results of rigorous research evaluating the economic and aesthetic objectives and performance factors. The fact that the board material is composed of stone wool, a natural material, was a key factor in the decision”, explains architect Philippe Cervantes.
Using ROCKPANEL cladding, the facades are wrapped in a pristine white covering which is accented by interweaved vertical green bands. These bands appear to be suspended from one floor to another, interconnecting the panoramic window bays that also wind around the building. They also evoke in miniature the huge sun shades that protect the exterior metal stairways, tucked away in the corners like an anchor at the prow of a ship. The Farenheit building appears to be designed like a huge puzzle, its Z-shaped geometry breaking up the regularity of its cuboid shape.
A construction challenge in the land of masonry
In the South of France, the use of masonry skills and interior insulation are generally the preferred choices for construction. According to Philippe Cervantes, “external insulation is unusual in this area”. Therefore the Fahrenheit building is clad over its entire façade with ROCKPANEL board material that acts as a rainscreen and protects the ROCKWOOL insulation material. This was the first time the architect had used ROCKPANEL façade cladding, and he is confident of the longevity of his creation because the basalt rock from which ROCKPANEL products are made gives them an exemplary stability to variations in temperature and humidity. Sturdy, flexible and light, ROCKPANEL board material has the advantage that it can be worked with standard tools, without the need for special equipment, to create the different shapes characterising the aesthetics of the building as designed by the architect.
