The market square's new cover represents a sensitive approach to urban planning that is as much an engineering feat as a challenge for the town planners. The aim has been to combine nature and novel architecture to create a harmonious and symbolic whole that is adapted to all the activities associated with Renens’s town centre.

The Canopy of Renens's Market Square, image courtesy Localarchitecture

An exceptional structure in any terms, it has been formed using thin slabs (15cm maximum thickness) subtly suspended amid five magnificent lime trees planted along the edge of the square, along the rue du Midi. As if supported by the trees, the discontinuous lines of the canopy give the structure a vibrant natural aspect.

The Canopy of Renens's Market Square, image courtesy Localarchitecture

The folding form, with its large triangular pieces, creates a structure with considerable reach and affords spacious and varied emplacements beneath. The undulating lines of the canopy, punctuated by the trees, shelter the square’s urban furniture: a stage for open-air shows, several benches for gentle relaxation, and games for children. The warmth of the wood used here contrasts well with the flowing mineral lines of the canopy creating a natural link between the canopy and the pavement below.

The Canopy of Renens's Market Square - Facade, drawing courtesy Localarchitecture

The supporting pillars, three metallic struts, are artistically blended with the trunks of the trees which line the arcade.

The Canopy of Renens's Market Square, image courtesy Localarchitecture

They rise from the ground spreading upwards creating a protective frame around the trunks of the trees. On the ground, cut into the pavement, a triangular grill, reflecting the shapes of the slabs forming the canopy, is the foothold for both the supporting pillars and the trees. Rainwater collects in the hollows formed by the roof structure, and is guided into the hollow pillars from where it flows down to the grill, creating a natural watering for the trees.

The Canopy of Renens's Market Square, image courtesy Localarchitecture

This marriage of mineral and green in the construction enables the ensemble to reflect the change of seasons. Firmly planted in the pavement of the Market Square, the cover creates an atmosphere at once urban and rural, ideal for relaxing and friendly exchanges with others. At night, a discreet lighting highlights the undersides of the canopy. The soft lines around the edges tend to enhance the feeling of a watchful, strong, presence at the heart of Renens's town centre.

The Canopy of Renens's Market Square, image courtesy Localarchitecture

This symbiosis between architecture and nature extends even to the construction procedure itself, as a witness of the discreet traces left by the wood of the mould used to create the concrete forms, a sort of photographic negative of the creative process.

The design of this quite exceptional work of art is the fruit of the continual dialogue that the three expert professionals – architects, engineers and landscape experts – maintained throughout the project. The very nature of the location helped dictate the architectural choices, such that the structure blends naturally with its environment. Computer-aided design and calculation techniques were used to ensure the correct sizing of each component of the complex structure.

The Canopy of Renens's Market Square - Details, drawing courtesy Localarchitecture

Three-dimensional models enable visualising the irregularly shaped edifice, where each facet of the structure supports and enhances its neighbour. (See the designs from BG.) This major architectural undertaking is a subtle embellishment to the existing surroundings and an important addition to the heart of Renens. The symbolic form of the arcade will enable all the various activities that take place in and around the Market Square, and indeed all the local inhabitants, to feel at home.

+ Project credits / data

Architects: LOCALARCHITECTURE | Manuel Bieler, Antoine Robert-Grandpierre, Laurent Saurer
Engineers: BG ingénieurs conseil | Michel Capron
Landscape designer: Paysagestion SA | Olivier Lasserre, Laurent Salin
Location: 1020 Renens, canton de Vaud, Suisse
Project Owner: Renens City

Civil Engineers: BG Bonnard et Gardel SA / consulting engineers, Lausanne
Landscape Architects: Paysagestion SA, Lausanne
Concrete Enterprise: Jaquet SA, Territet-Veytaux

Load-baring Structure:
Folded concrete structure 15cm thick.
15 metal pillars with a diameter of 13cm.

Cast: Three fold cast, laser cut.
Concrete finish: resin with aluminum dust
Metal quantity: 250 kg/m3
Trees: 5 Plane Trees
Total Cost tax-inclusive: 480’000 €
Surface: Cover: 300 m2
Market square: 2300m2
Year of construction: 2010-2011

+ About LOCALARCHITECTURE

LOCALARCHITECTURE was founded in Lausanne by partners Manuel Bieler, Antoine Robert-Grandpierre and Laurent Saurer in 2002.

Our work focuses on developing a responsive and fresh architecture that contributes in redefining a context's harmony and history. Localarchitecture's goal is to achieve a positive impact on the environment by integrating time, sounds and seasons in the design process.

Localarchitecture has been recognized nationally and internationally in publications and competitions. Recent awards include Distinction Romande d'Architecture Award, Federal Bois21 Award for new wood utilization in Sustainable Development, New Estonian National Museum, and New Fine-Arts Museum in Lausanne.

+ All drawings and images courtesy of Localarchitecture 

In the northern section of Polanco, one of the modern districts of Mexico City, an area with high growth potential and current vitality which is also to become one of the most emblematic places in the city, stands Cervantes Saavedra 639, a new mixed-use project designed by the Mexican firm ZD + A, whose leader is the architect Yuri Zagorin.

CS 639 Office Building, image courtesy ZD+A

This unique piece of architecture is part of a real estate revolution, which in recent years has transformed the urban landscape of the area and includes contributions from architects such as LAR +Fernando Romero (Soumaya Museum) and David Chipperfield (Jumex Collection Museum). However, in this context the project “Cervantes Saavedra 639″ is relevant because of its unique combination of geometric purity, his chromatic audacity and contextual integration, aspects in a strong contrast against formal and stylistic extravagance of some of its nearest neighbors.

CS 639 Office Building, image courtesy ZD+A

Conceived to maximize space efficiency and flexibility, the project incorporates an unorthodox design decisions to multiply its functional and operational possibilities. On the one hand, the ground plan free schema allows adapting the space to the changing needs of different users and programs. And secondly, to improve the building space flexibility, the structural solution was designed in such a way that the space that corresponds to the slope of the framework that supports the mezzanine can be used as intermediate floor which can increase the useful area of the interior. Also, at levels of the parking area was installed a series of car lifts, which allows to help with the management of space, significantly raising the number of parking spaces.

CS 639 Office Building, image courtesy ZD+A

One of the most unique aspects of this project is certainly the façade defined by a sensual game of skins that serves to articulate the relationship between interior and exterior space in a sensitive, intelligent and creative manner. The combination of layers mitigates the negative impact of external factors, specially sunlight and the noise from both the bustling streets of Polanco and the ring road. At the same time, the control of window frames and the extending of the interior area to an external balcony reinforce the overarching strategy to control these and other possible sources of visual and sound contamination.

CS 639 Office Building, image courtesy ZD+A

From the city, the outer skin is perceived as a large pixilated geometry that generates a formal and chromatic energy that changes according to the time of the day and the position of the observer. The visual pattern of the display was designed by artist Luis Diaz Gordoa from VENA2 atelier and it was constructed with Hunter Douglas aluminum panels. From inside, the alternation of voids and solids allows us an unexpected and changing external view. Furthermore, the rear façade was equipped with a series of plant holder that equilibrates environmental and visual comfort of the occupants and also gave to the project a solid ecological differentiating character.

CS 639 Office Building, image courtesy ZD+A

At street level, the building rests on a podium and stands out for the design of materials and textures once bold and harmonious. The exposed concrete, steel, hardwood, granite and silk-screened glass create a dialogue of balance as a tectonic unit that integrates almost a symbiotic relationship with the immediate urban context.

+ Project credits / data

Name of the Project: CS 639
Location: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Mexico City.
Type: Office Building

Date:
Project: May 2009 – July 2009
Construction: June 2009 – January 2010
Interior: June 2010 – October 2010

Area:
Site: 506.89 m2
Construction: 2,788.50m2

Architectonic Project: ZD+A | Yuri Zagorin Alazraki, Felipe Buendía
Design Team: Eduardo Fernández Gonzalez, Eugenia Pérez
Construction: Fernando Reynoso Monroy, Agustín Quiñones García, Francisco Vargas
Facilities: ZD+A
Structure: Ismael Vazquez Martinez
Photography: Rafael Gamo, Sandra Pérez-Nieto

+ All images courtesy ZD+A