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lina ghotmeh brings sweeping arches to brick-clad hermès workshop in normandy
CategoriesArchitecture

lina ghotmeh brings sweeping arches to new hermès workshop

By Zarkon Group,
lina ghotmeh brings sweeping arches to brick-clad hermès workshop in normandy

hermès maroquinerie de louvriers by lina ghotmeh 

 

On April 7, 2023, Hermès inaugurated a new Maroquinerie, a high-performance, and low-carbon, brick-clad building in Louviers, France. Completed by French-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh, the 6,200 sqm leather workshop occupies a second site in Hermès’ Normandy hub, perpetuating the house’s artisanal and human culture, as well as its ecological ambitions. The workshop will welcome 260 artisans trained at the Louviers École Hermès des savoir-faire, its apprenticeship training center (CFA) accredited by the French Education Department, which delivers the CAP vocational diploma in leatherworking. This manufacture also includes a saddlery workshop to support the dynamic equestrian métier, historically at 24 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, Paris.

lina ghotmeh brings sweeping arches to brick-clad hermès workshop in normandy
image © Iwan Baan | all courtesy Hermès and Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture

 

 

the first industrial building to earn the french e4c2 label 

 

Drawing on her unique approach, rooted in what she calls ‘the archaeology of the future,’ Lina Ghotmeh (see more here) focused her quest on the architecture of the space and how it enhances and preserves its site, in line with the house’s values. The Hermès workshop is thus a true technical achievement serving the brand’s environmental goals: it is, to date, the first industrial building to have earned the French E4C2 label. This label assesses the performance of a new facility according to two criteria: energy (E) and carbon (C). Level E4, the highest level, means that the Louviers leather goods workshop is a positive energy building. Level C2, also the highest, denotes the most efficient operation for carbon footprint reduction.

 

‘The wooden-framed building was constructed on an industrial brownfield site using more than 500,000 bricks, produced 70 kilometers from Louviers to minimize the impact of construction while showcasing the know-how of Normandy’s brick-makers. As the main material used, the brick attests to the local embedding of the project in its environment and offers a palette of red and violet tones that vary according to daylight and the time of the year,’ writes the architectural practice. 

lina ghotmeh brings sweeping arches to brick-clad hermès workshop in normandy
a brick-clad, low-carbon, environmental workshop | image © Iwan Baan

 

 

preserving and celebrating the local site 

 

Indeed, the building’s location takes full advantage of natural light and ventilation to limit the need for artificial lighting, heating, and air conditioning. These needs are met by geothermal energy (with 13 probes at a depth of 150 meters) and more than 2,300 sqm of solar panels, which combine to ensure energy autonomy. Using the soil excavated from the site and the expertise of the Belgian landscape architect Erik Dhont, three hectares of undulating gardens have been created, retaining most of the site’s original trees. Designed to preserve local biodiversity, these gardens are equipped with a system for recovering and directing rainwater into the water table.

 

‘From its construction to its day-to-day operation, everything has been designed to ensure that the building embraces, extends, and complements its natural environment. This ‘archaeology of the future’ approach also permeates its appearance: echoing the motifs dear to Hermès, the square shape of the workshop is reminiscent of the house’s silk carré, while its graceful arches evoke the trajectory of a jumping horse. This innovative and timeless form, thought of from the smallest scale of the brick and as a new layer in the landscape, also recalls the gestures of artisans, the precision of the hand, and the constant pursuit of excellence and beauty in their leather work. The gardens’ gentle undulations recall the arches of a building that blends into its landscape, down to the materials used to construct it,’ concludes Ghotmeh. 

lina ghotmeh brings sweeping arches to brick-clad hermès workshop in normandy
image © Iwan Baan

 

 

Last but not least, in this precise and harmonious setting, the artist Emmanuel Saulnier was invited to design a piece of art for the ‘village square’, the workshop’s courtyard and meeting place. Inspired by ‘The Epsom Derby’, a painting by Théodore Géricault from 1821, the work consists of seven stainless steel needles suspended by leather stirrup straps custom-made by the house’s bridle-makers. These horizontal lines evoke the movement of horses beneath a light-filled stormy sky and connect it to the artisanal gesture of the expert hand.

lina ghotmeh brings sweeping arches to brick-clad hermès workshop in normandy
image © Iwan Baan

lina ghotmeh brings sweeping arches to brick-clad hermès workshop in normandy
art installation by Emmanuel Saulnier | image © Iwan Baan

lina ghotmeh brings sweeping arches to brick-clad hermès workshop in normandy
image © Iwan Baan

lina ghotmeh brings sweeping arches to brick-clad hermès workshop in normandy
inside the leather workshop | image © Iwan Baan

Reference

sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris' iconic cityscape
CategoriesArchitecture

sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris’ cityscape

By Zarkon Group,
sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris' iconic cityscape

ūti architectes rethinks paris’ skateboarding culture

 

Amid the dense urban fabric of Paris, ūti architectes unveils hidden skateparks sweeping across the cityscape using artificial intelligence design tool Midjourney. The series renders quiet urban pockets far from the hustle and bustle of the street life, where vast concrete skateparks emerge seamlessly as extensions of the city’s iconic architectural fabric. Extending its conceptions beyond the physical realm, the architectural office imagines a new, somewhat surreal dimension to Paris’ culture of skateboarding.

sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris' iconic cityscape
all images by ūti architectes

 

 

hidden skateparks become at one with the city’s architecture

 

ūti architectes creates the series as a photographic report that documents imagined, hidden skating venues that appear to have always been a part of the Parisian landscape. Surreal in their scale and form, the structures at the same time discreetly fuse with the city’s build-up in their materiality. ‘For a moment it is possible to doubt their true existence,’ notes the architect.

 

The Hidden Skateparks of Paris series explores means of conceptualization and reimagines new urban spaces using Midjourney. The AI program, the architect considers, opens up new reflections while creating doubts about whether these renderings really exist or not. ‘Through a process of back and forth iterations with Midjourney, we obtained a collection of quasi-tangible spaces. Having grown up in Paris with the culture of skateboarding, which is deeply rooted in certain iconic places, it was an opportunity to explore and take a new look at Paris as an architect.’

sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris' iconic cityscape
ūti architectes unveils hidden skateparks sweeping across the cityscape

sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris' iconic cityscape
vast concrete skateparks emerge seamlessly as extensions of the city’s iconic architectural fabric

sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris' iconic cityscape
‘a collection of quasi-tangible spaces’

sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris' iconic cityscape
the AI-generated structures appear to have always been tucked into the city

sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris' iconic cityscape
surreal in their scale and form

sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris' iconic cityscape
ūti architectes imagines a surreal dimension to Paris’ skateboarding scene

sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris' iconic cityscape sweeping AI-generated skateparks emerge from paris' iconic cityscape

 

 

project info:

 

name: Hidden Skateparks of Paris
designer: ūti architectes

 

 

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: ravail khan | designboom



Reference

Exterior photo of The Wendy House
CategoriesArchitecture

Earthscape Studio adds sweeping vaulted farmhouse to Kerala forest

By Zarkon Group,
Exterior photo of The Wendy House

Locally produced bricks and recycled materials feature in this vaulted residence in Kerala, India, named The Wendy House.

Designed by Bangalore practice Earthscape Studio, the home is located within eight acres of dense forest and was designed to stand among the trees without disrupting the existing nature.

Exterior photo of The Wendy House
The Wendy House was designed by Earthscape Studio

“Our main aim was to not harm nature by cutting down the trees and other existing natural features on the site,” lead architect Petchimuthu Kennedy told Dezeen.

“When we visited the site, there were lots of trees such as mango, coconut, nutmeg, and teak. Since we didn’t want to disturb them, we made a grid on site and determined the shape of the house according to the placement of existing trees.”

Photo of The Wendy House
It was constructed using recycled materials

Aiming to draw from the surrounding nature, Earthscape Studio used locally sourced materials throughout the building, including recycled rods, broken tiles and earth from the site.

The studio also used traditional sithu kal bricks – small bricks constructed of three layers – sourced from within 50 kilometres of the site and joined by local workers to create the building’s vaulted form.

Photo of The Wendy House
It has a sweeping roof

“The bricks that we used are small sithu kal bricks, which were previously used along the south side of Tamil Nadu for the famous technique called Madras terrace roof,” said Kennedy, referring to an Indian roofing system that involves creating a series of sloping roofs to encourage rainwater drainage.

“Nowadays, the technique is no longer used and the community members who produce these bricks have become unemployed,” he continued. “We wanted to bring them back by engaging the local community with work.”

The Wendy House is split across two separate vaulted volumes each comprising three layers of bricks along with a fourth recycled waterproofing layer made from broken tiles from factories.

“We wanted no steel or concrete to be on our building structure and we don’t want to cut down any trees,” said Kennedy. “This timbrel vault technique is a catenary-based vault that requires no steel or concrete.”

“The catenary form is self-stabilising since the forces of the vault are transferred directly to the footing.”

Interior photo of The Wendy House
There is a courtyard at the centre

The vaulted forms were topped with a sweeping roof made from locally sourced, recycled mudga tiles.

Inside, the home has an open plan with a bedroom, bathroom and storage space in one wing, along with a living room, dining space, and pantry in the other.

Photo of the interior of the home
The home has an open-plan design

A courtyard with a small pond in its centre runs between the two blocks, punctuated on either end by curved rammed earth walls.

Framed with recycled rods, glass walls on the inner facing walls of the vaulted buildings offer views from the interior into the central courtyard.

Photo of a living space
It has built-in furniture

The recycled rods were also used alongside waste wood to create the frames for built-in furniture, including a bed, sofa, and kitchen counter.

Other Indian homes recently featured on Dezeen include a cylindrical house designed to collect rainwater and a home with large terraces sheltered by a jagged metal canopy.

The photography is by Syam Sreesylam.

Reference