BACK TO HOMEPAGE >
40UNDER40
FACHES THUMESNIL SWIMMING POOL
BORDAS+PEIRO
 |
 |
Biography: Anna Maria Bordas, Miquel Peiro
Anna Maria Bordas, born in 1983, graduated as an engineer in Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (Paris) and later on graduated summa cum laude as an architect in the ENSAVT Paris. Involved in teaching, she lectures Project to both architecture and engineering students (at ENSAVT an EIVP).
Miquel Peiro, born in 1979, graduated as an engineer in Escuela de Caminos, Canales y Puertos and has also in Environmental Sciences. He teaches construction and ambiances in two architecture schools, ENSAB and ENSAVT. Prior to creating bordas+peiro, they both worked in big-scale projects like the Fondation Louis Vuitton, or the Phare Tower project, where they put in practice the link between idea and materialisation.
They created bordas+peiro architecte+ingénieur in 2011 to put in practice both architecture and engineering projects. Against the mainstream by their theory and premises, they are diametrically opposed to the stereotype of young trendy architect. They believe quality architecture is not necessarily linked to asymmetrical designs or preppy colours. Their work is infused/based in by in a sort of move backwards to roots, to the question of what is essential in architecture.
Their production is sincere, serene, and finds often roots into context and their specific way of looking at existing conditions, by attaching to pertinent, elegant technical solutions.
The project is not just treated as an independent plot, but participates into the creation of the city and is placed into context to last. Creating alchemy, they reconcile urban needs and programmatic needs. Their analytical capacity is also key into introducing a particular way of looking at existing conditions. Why neglected, abandoned spaces are so? Which is the essence that needs to be kept? What can be done to inverse the degradation process? In a morose economical context and society lost within consumerism and in seek of environmentally sustainable solutions; pertinence is most important.
They have recently won the Metro station at Clichy Montfermeil for Société du Grand Paris in association with EMBT, and have just delivered the first phase of a Farmhouse rehabilitation. They have been invited to give conferences about their practice and methods within different cities. Anna Maria Bordas was awarded prix AJAC 2012 by the Architects order of Barcelona and honorary mention to EFCA European Prize in 2013. She is part of the AMO Prize Quality working spaces Jury for the 2014 edition and innovation prize Besnard de Quelen. Miquel Peiro won the EFCA prize in 2012.
FACHES THUMESNIL SWIMMING POOL
A mid-70’s swimmingpool roof collapsed the 5th march 2012 due to snowfall. The project the mayor entrusted bordas+peiro consisted in rebuilding the roof and adapting the public equipment to new safety and disabled person requirements. Furthermore, new seismic regulations in France including Lille as a seismic spot did not allow using non-reinforced masonry as bearing points, which had great impact on this particular building, where all the existing bearing walls were of this type.
A very important part of the work consisted in taking into account the particular conditions of the project. The collapse being unpredictable, no funds were allowed in the council budget for that year. The council asked us to evaluate different options ranking to a minimal intervention allowing to re-open the pool, even with reduced capacity, and to consider other options allowing to resolve disfunctions of the pool in the case more funds could be found.
The proposal consisted in a specifically designed roof for all three options, and plan and supplementary technical equipment for more expensive options. Main idea was to create a cheap roof for all options, enabling to give more light and volume to the former low-height pool room, by creating at the same time a shed form. This shed form allows non-reflecting north light and protects at the same time from south enlightening by a prolongation of the roof towards south.
In order to avoid creating new pillars inside a very “encombré” space, a structural 30-m span truss is situated above the masonry main wall in the middle of the equipment, allowing one of the two light sheds oriented north. Framework is disposed between this truss and the exterior columns with a special geometry allowing to span 10m with 30cm height beams.
The inner space is magnified, and a new character is given to the building by both the roof and the new entrance inviting to discover new facilities. We also proposed to reintegrate the existing garden to the equipment, which could not be used in order to lack of footbath in the entry and water games for smaller kids. The essence of materials like masonry and typical yellow and grey small swimmingpool tiles are conserved and integrated into design.
