Wood materials: innovative materials

Intervention by FIBOIS Nouvelle-Aquitaine and FIBOIS Landes de Gascogne

With the participation of :

- Isabelle Defos du Rau, architect - FABRIQUE Atelier d'Architecture

- Emilie Potier, interior architect - Alterlab

- Chrystel Moreau, architect - b.i.p

At the heart of the contemporary challenges of the 21st century, wood is emerging as a material of the future, standing out in the construction industry for its many uses and applications.

Despite a traditional and ancestral image, it is becoming a major asset in design, as much for its aesthetic as for its mechanical characteristics.

Through the diversity of wood species and their specific properties, architects are making the most of wood's assets, offering us the chance to discover this material in all its aspects, from raw wood to transformed wood.

We'd like to illustrate this approach through the eyes of three regional architects:

Isabelle Defos du Rau, architect - FABRIQUE Atelier d'Architecture (33): 32 social housing rental units in the Nezer forest at Le Teich (panoramabois.fr)

The approach consisted in limiting the visual impact of the building as much as possible, in particular by freeing up the ground floor to create transparencies overlooking the wooded heart of the block, and in clearly separating the structure and envelope for thermal reasons. To this end, the floors, walls and columns are made of concrete, while the entire building envelope is made of wood. The pinewood used for the joinery, cladding, closures and shutters is designed to age and blend in with the existing vegetation.

Emilie Potier, interior designer - Alterlab (17) : POLE ENFANCE DE BALLON ET CIRE D'AUNIS (panoramabois.fr)

Echoing the urban and landscape context, the children's centre is a metaphor for a hut in the middle of a reedy landscape. The main facade is punctuated by a series of gables extended by overhanging roofs that protect the entrances. They form a courtyard, protect the activity rooms from the sun and enable the outside areas to be used when the weather is uncertain. The building is finished in natural wood. The choice of a wood/straw construction process gives the building a strong architectural identity, in keeping with local know-how and the landscape.

Chrystel Moreau, architect - b.i.p (24) : Wood in colour (panoramabois.fr)

The site is a natural wooded area typical of the Granitic Green Perigord. The canopy has been maintained and made accessible by light pruning. The density of vegetation has been controlled to create openings, passageways and views into the undergrowth, and to create an open space for discovery to the south and a more intimate space to the north. The woodland is laid out on the slope around the square and the bell path, a recessed and illuminated walkway, the story hut, the flora observatory, the snake trail and the Rapeaux children's workshop in homage to Pierre Rapeau, a local painter and poet. Colourful figurines evoking the legend of Abjat mark the way.

https://fibois-na.fr
https://fibois-landesdegascogne.fr/

This seminar was accredited if you attended it live. You can still watch the seminar here on replay.