calderon folch sarsanedas arquitectes: léonce georges community center

‘léonce georges community center’ by calderon-folch-sarsanedas arquitectes, chauffailles, france image © p. viladoms all images courtesy of calderon-folch-sarsanedas arquitectes

barcelona-based calderon-folch-sarsanedas arquitectes in collaboration with g. lafond created the ‘léonce georges community center,’ named after the local firefighting hero, as a much needed multifunctional facility for the small town of chauffailles in france. the city had at the architect’s disposal a semi-deteriorated farm next to an expansive field, with the idea to reform the existing building and expand with a new one. the original L-shaped footprint was conserved, along with the stone masonry vernacular, timber trusses and ceramic roof tiles to respect the local agricultural culture.

extending the pocketed area, the new addition is made entirely of local douglass fir braced by subtle light steel frames, as a materially sensitive response to the adjacent architectural language. prefabricated sections allow the structure to be dismantled in the future. contrasting to the orthogonal farmhouse, angled roof planes over a large unified space with operable folding walls offer a multi-use social program that opens to the field. triangular skylights bring plenty of natural light to the interior, spotlighting a small stage platform.

view from the field image © p. viladoms

new and old structure image © p. viladoms

entry sequence image © p. viladoms

foldable panels open the entire wall image © p. viladoms

angles roof elements and skylights image © p. viladoms

large interior space image © p. viladoms

stage image © p. viladoms

(left) connection between new structure and existing farmhouse (right) interior image © p. viladoms

triangular skylights bring natural light inside image © p. viladoms

southwest facade with operable wall panels image © p. viladoms

site plan

floor plan / level 0