Jean-Pierre Lott

Vitrolles Media Library

John-Pierre Lott
25. April 2017

PROJECT DETAILS

Address
1 place de la liberté, avenue des Salyen, 13127 Vitrolles 

Client
City of Vitrolles

Client representative
Icade 

Architect
Jean-Pierre Lott – architect of record

TCE engineering consultant
OTEIS 

HQE engineering consultant
OASIIS

Acoustics engineering consultant
ACOUSTB 

Surface area
3,990  m² net floor area

Environmental certification
BDM Building, Silver level

Photographer
Aldo Amoretti

Photo: Aldo Amoretti

Vitrolles, like many cities on the periphery of great metropolises, grew too quickly. A victim of the urbanization of the 1960s, it went from the status of little Provençal village with about a thousand inhabitants, to a bedroom community comprised of soulless apartment buildings.

Photo: Aldo Amoretti

The media library project has a dual façade: a ground floor aligned with the street – exterior wall all in glass – an open invitation to enter, and a floor above comprised of a great undulating veil of white concrete with openings resembling lattice work, the whole expressing movement and lightness in a metaphor for reading. The project draws its strength from the contrast of these two faces.

Photo: Aldo Amoretti

The transparent base opening onto the square offers pedestrians a clear view of the entrance, the exhibition spaces, the café, and the auditorium, causing the building to emerge from its framework. The upper floor, overhanging the sidewalk and the areas of open access to books and materials ensures direct sunlight. Here, where the reading rooms have been designed by the architect with great fluidity (symbolized by the curves) and the treatment of light was given particular attention. Thus, facing the square, the façade has just a few openings because it is oriented southward, and the light sources are placed on the north end to guarantee a homogeneous quality to the direct sunlight.

Photo: Aldo Amoretti

The kinetic perception of the great veil gives the media library the appearance of changing forms. Depending on the light, on where one is standing, whether it is daytime or nighttime, the building takes on different visages.

Photo: Aldo Amoretti
Photo: Aldo Amoretti

The children’s section is located on the ground floor, directly linked with the reception area and the open space. The furnishings design the space and a well of light in the central area guarantees very good illumination. An exterior garden extends the room and offers children the possibility of outdoor activities. The “fairy tale hour” room hovers above the reception area, its shape evoking a star, is a place of dreaming and storytelling. It is the focal point of the composition.

Photo: Aldo Amoretti
Photo: Aldo Amoretti

Both the fiction section and the documentation center are located on Level 1 in the same open space. A grand staircase leads to the level of the elegant open corridors that weave the links between the varios spaces. The floors are open and the positioning of the furnishings can be adapted. Large wells of light on the north end guarantee a quality of light conducive to reading. Level 2 contains the internal services linked to the reading floors and the entrance by a dedicated service elevator.

Photo: Aldo Amoretti
Photo: Aldo Amoretti
Site Plan (Drawing: Jean-Pierre Lott)
Ground Floor Plan (Drawing: Jean-Pierre Lott)
Level 1 Plan (Drawing: Jean-Pierre Lott)
Mezzanine Plan (Drawing: Jean-Pierre Lott)
Building Sections (Drawing: Jean-Pierre Lott)

PROJECT DETAILS

Address
1 place de la liberté, avenue des Salyen, 13127 Vitrolles 

Client
City of Vitrolles

Client representative
Icade 

Architect
Jean-Pierre Lott – architect of record

TCE engineering consultant
OTEIS 

HQE engineering consultant
OASIIS

Acoustics engineering consultant
ACOUSTB 

Surface area
3,990  m² net floor area

Environmental certification
BDM Building, Silver level

Photographer
Aldo Amoretti

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