Located on a traffic artery not far from the old heart of Plaisance du Touch, a suburban community in the metropolitan area of Toulouse, stands the “Espace Monestié”, a centre for cultural activities, sport and youth. Here, a new urban focus is to be created to complement the existing core. In the heterogeneous environment between the school, commercial and housing areas, the architects eschewed the idea of a dominant formal gesture. Instead, the volumes, forms of construction and materials respond to the neighbouring halls.
An older building, containing a gym, a cinema and a youth centre, was pragmatically ex-tended by a theatre and halls for exhibitions, sport and festivities, as well as a cafe, further cinema auditoria and civic spaces. The new and existing halls lined up along the eastern side can be flexibly joined together or divided, thereby allowing a wide range of uses. A silvery gleaming corrugated-aluminium skin now unites old and new, creating a powerful object by simple means and without major changes to the existing structure. New and old sections are evident particularly in the leaps in height in the rear facade. At the centre of the design is an open space covered by a translucent sawtooth roof. Accessible to all, this area can be used as a meeting point, a marketplace and an extension of the foyer, channelling the streams of visitors and linking the various sections of the ensemble.
On the upper level, spaces are provided for for less prominent parts of the programme such as offices, which are concealed behind perforated, corrugated-aluminium sheeting and oriented to the open area. Here, too, is the youth centre with a hall, games and computer spaces, a rehearsal room and recording studio. This mixture of functions ensures intensive use and economical operation. The architects describe the complex as an efficient, simple and comprehensible “instrument”. The unconventional logo on the facade – a style of lettering used internally for direction signs – forms a contrast to the linear appearance of the halls and underlines the special identity of the “Espace Monestié”.
An older building, containing a gym, a cinema and a youth centre, was pragmatically ex-tended by a theatre and halls for exhibitions, sport and festivities, as well as a cafe, further cinema auditoria and civic spaces. The new and existing halls lined up along the eastern side can be flexibly joined together or divided, thereby allowing a wide range of uses. A silvery gleaming corrugated-aluminium skin now unites old and new, creating a powerful object by simple means and without major changes to the existing structure. New and old sections are evident particularly in the leaps in height in the rear facade. At the centre of the design is an open space covered by a translucent sawtooth roof. Accessible to all, this area can be used as a meeting point, a marketplace and an extension of the foyer, channelling the streams of visitors and linking the various sections of the ensemble.
On the upper level, spaces are provided for for less prominent parts of the programme such as offices, which are concealed behind perforated, corrugated-aluminium sheeting and oriented to the open area. Here, too, is the youth centre with a hall, games and computer spaces, a rehearsal room and recording studio. This mixture of functions ensures intensive use and economical operation. The architects describe the complex as an efficient, simple and comprehensible “instrument”. The unconventional logo on the facade – a style of lettering used internally for direction signs – forms a contrast to the linear appearance of the halls and underlines the special identity of the “Espace Monestié”.