located in the town of gournay-en-bray in france, the CULT dance, media and music school by vincent parreira architecture atelier (AAVP) occupies the former site of the damau factory. with that in mind the centre has come to be designed as a workshop and meets two major challenges: building a contemporary structure at the black of the plot which redefines the relationship with the natural environment and exisiting traditional architecture; ensuring the building is readable in relation to the context by framing views from the main and secondary entrances image © luc boegly the newly built centre by AAVP being a cornerstone of the project and the face of the cultural hub within is set in perfect harmony with the architecture of the town centre. the double sloping lines of the structures of yesteryear meet a contemporary archetype dressed in dark purple slate and interrupted intermittently a free reinterpretation and a statement in favour of craft and style.  the programmed space includes a ground floor (multimedia library and dance school) a first floor (music school) and basement (technical premises) which can be accessed from the outside it is the only building open to the public the body of the maison des associations (local clubs and activities centre) is an extension of the existing structure which lends its truss as a point of connection the architecture also includes a glass-panelled hall that presents a generous space for exhibitions and serves as a ‘gateway to oversee access to various activities the multimedia library is composed of an adults section next to the entrance and the deeper visitors venture into the building the closer they get to the children’s areas. the woodwork present within suggests almost cathedral-like volumes with a soothing light flooding the reading rooms on the other hand, the first floor is entirely given over to music rooms designed around an inner passageway  – offering an urban feel the dance school is located at the end of the left wing settling into the main building with delicacy and elegance.  with its gables echoing the outline of the existing lodge the building known as ‘signal’ is recognized by a copper grid cladding a vertical eight letter sign made from PMMA (transparent thermoplastic) has been fitted 4.5 metres from the ground to identify the centre for clear readability from a distance with the semi-transparent grid behind it the sign is backlit — letting off a soft the lettering reflects a contemporary re-reading of signs a nod to the remarkable style of advertising panels which were characteristic of rural french landscapes.  the main function of this ‘open air’ building is to communicate the town of gournay- en-bray’s cultural activities through the large and lit signage. in other words having no commercial use and serving mainly for administrative purposes the extensive glass façades of the centre are covered by a copper grid to dress the large volumes and transparent bays creating intimacy or protection from the sun this grid appears intermittently on the ground floor and extends over the entire height of the south truss to shield the large meeting room from outside eyes it enters into conversation with the sign-building at the entrance – and the diamond shaped corners of the copper boxes lend them a hard edge which brings them to life the same architectural language is preserved all throughout the project and is characterized by a deep purple slate covering and cladding this is implemented in a traditional manner by local craftsmen and trades guild its use is often reserved for prestigious buildings but here it is implemented in a streamlined design with strong visual continuity masking the gutters with no overhang on the roof the envelope of scales created by the slates and reflections of the schist ultimately make the dark purple hue a poetic reference to the gardens and courtyards of the old damau factory 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. AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Application Areas Coatings Technologies Legislation Markets & Companies People & Careers Production & Lab Raw materials Sponsored Content Home » News » Raw Materials » Sika is further expanding its production in France Sika has started production of shotcrete admixtures at its main plant at Gournay-en-Bray The set accelerator is used primarily in tunnel construction A crucial factor in shotcrete as it is applied in mining and tunneling is high early strength development Image source: Broesis - Pixabay (symbol image) the market potential in France and beyond is considerable – in western Europe alone tenders have been issued for tunnel construction projects with a combined length of 900 kilometers with these projects set to come on stream over the next few years Admixtures in the form of a set accelerator ensure that the shotcrete bonds to rock and concrete After having worked in large-scale projects such as the Gotthard tunnel and the Brenner base tunnel Sika says that it can guarantee the durability of its technologies Regional Manager EMEA: “The infrastructure construction market is generally characterised by a high level of resilience in crises Even in 2020 capital spending remains strong With the commissioning of the new facilities at the Gournay-en-Bray plant our aim is to tap into business potential in France and in north and western Europe and facilitate challenging shotcrete work in mining and tunneling projects with our specialty products we are strengthening our supply chain and competitiveness thanks to a sizeable reduction in logistics costs.”  A recent review shows that powder coatings made from renewable raw materials are becoming increasingly relevant polyamide or limonene resins enable sustainable.. 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