The project involves the creation of 5,000 m² of shells harbouring shops, concept stores and leisure activities in the vast space of the Capucins Workshops (Ateliers des Capucins) in Brest.
The Capucins Workshops are buildings classified as historical monuments part of the Brest Arsenal, built in the nineteenth century.
A landmark overseen by the city since 2009, the workshops have been converted into a cultural and retail precinct in the heart of the Capucins district, accessible by France’s urban cable car.
The site, extraordinary in its history and size, unique in its programming and new uses, is a cornerstone of Brest’s industrial and military heritage.
The project seeks to enhance and support this atypical space while infusing tailor-made and respectful contemporary architecture. The entire project is located on two levels along the indoor covered street connecting the cable car to the main square of the new district.
While the building mainly composed of large metal structures and large pitched glass roof, a series of cells are made out of wood, making them strikingly stand out. The use of wood brings warmth and lightness, and gives the impression of an almost ephemeral takeover.
Each volume is composed like a vertebrate ossature, punctuated with vertical lines, animated by a random arrangement of wood, opaque anthracites, or glass surfaces that create visual breakthrough,offering a real sense of the sheer scale of the site.
The facades play with this frame, emphasised by large wooden thorns. If the modularity of the cells can accommodate the diversity of activities in an overall coherence, the singularity of the project comes from the gigantism of the place, the constructive choice and the strong environmental commitment of the project.
The facades, despite their height sometimes reaching 13 metres, are made of prefabricated wood frame walls with thorns made of Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL). The flooring, made of prefabricated LVL boxes span 10 to 14 metres. The floors, disassociated from existing workshops, are supported by a pole and beam system with a laminated wood structure.
All the materials used were chosen for their environmental properties.
