“I was struck by the curiosity that the building aroused in the neighborhood as construction progressed,” explains architect Pierre Brulé, designer of a passive energy office building in the Cap-Horn sector in Quimper. “Whether the approach is positive or negative, I took pleasure in explaining my approach. From the point of view of the architectural gesture, as well as in terms of the technical characteristics of the building with a wooden frame and passive energy.
Tangible data is already perfectly measured while the construction of the building is almost complete. With this attention to the general public, the architect is part of a dynamic of transmitting knowledge and the realm of possibilities. The office complex built on rue Madame-de Pompéry is already fully rented, even if the 550 m2 of offices spread over four levels will only be delivered to their new owners and tenants in December.
The secrets of this new generation construction
A wooden frame building is not entirely new but the architect managed not to give up (due to certain physical constraints) the use of straw as insulation: chopped and highly compressed rather than woven. The energy performance objective is also achieved thanks to a particular orientation and design of the openings. And above all thanks to the natural exploitation of a column of air simply created due to the position of the building in relation to the neighboring building. Result: virtually no heating system and 17 hours of thermal inertia. “This project does not use cutting-edge technologies. But requires a very high technical level. And a lot of brain juice,” smiles Pierre Brulé.
The response of the senses
So, before the premises were fully operational, the architect had the idea and above all the desire to interact with local residents and more broadly the Quimperois. Whether they are initiated or simply curious. The first session is scheduled for Friday, October 18 at 2 p.m. “The idea is also that the carpenters and other craftsmen who carried out the project participate and provide their insight and technical comments directly. We are going to talk about architecture in the broad sense. But without it being a theoretical course. What seems important to me is visiting the building,” explains Pierre Brulé. Seeing, but also feeling is an interesting experience of confronting discourse with reality.
Practical
Free but by reservation for security reasons, at pierre@brulé-architectes.fr; other visits will be scheduled by Quimper Cornouaille Développement, as part of the Economic Tourism and Know-How Week, from October 23 to November 5.
