B612 – Centre D'innovation
18 maart 2021
Summer Sunset
A new urban area for living, working, leisure and research is being created in the south of Toulouse, on the site of Air France’s former service and maintenance unit. In recent years, various aerospace companies and related IT firms have been set up on the southern tip of this district. Different sectors can work together here in synergy, at this historic, centrally located and high-profile location. One building fostering synergies between different businesses and research companies is the B612, named after the asteroid which is home to Saint-Exupéry’s ”Little Prince“. An entire world of its own opens up here. The architects did not have an easy task planning the B612: different functions and purposes require diverse volumes and spaces. There are research workshops, office accommodation, meeting and event rooms, and car parking spaces. Anyone now driving along the E 80 towards Toulouse, can see from the building’s architecture that the various different uses are interlinked. This is because the architects have allowed the building to meander along the top of a tall base storey and, in so doing, have created two roof top courtyards which vary the depth of the structure and offer shaded, secluded outdoor spaces in a setting which is otherwise rather surreal and surrounded by heavy traffic. To complete the building, they selected an ALUCOBOND® façade for the building envelope. Its colours respond not only to the external environment but also relate to the functions of the internal space. Research institutes and start-ups are located in the northern half of the building which is clad in light-coloured ’spectra titanium‘ panels. In contrast, in the more southerly part, where the established companies have their office space, the colour scheme changes to a dark ’sparkling black metallic‘. The walls enclosing the roof top courtyards are clad in 'lemon' and 'orange', complementing the natural colours in the surroundings: the blue sky, the greenery and enhancing the way light falls in the south of France. When the evening summer sun is low in the sky over Toulouse, it bathes the exterior ALUCOBOND® façades in a sparkling yellow, orange and red, matching the courtyard walls. Planet B612 takes on a fiery radiance at the most beautiful time of day, sunset
Project: B612 – Centre D'innovation, Toulouse | France
Architect: Kardham Cardete Huet Architecture | France
Fabricator: TIM Composites, Cholet | France
Installer: Soprema, Strasbourg | France
Façade System: Tray Panels Special Design
Year of Construction: 2017
Product: ALUCOBOND® PLUS solid Orange + Lemon + sparkling Black Metallic
Photos & Drawings: Arnaud Späni & Kardham Architecture / Oppidéa / Toulouse