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Centre de sciences Cosmocité
By : ARCANE Architectes et Cardin Julien
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 17th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Public Building / Cultural Building : Bronze Certification
Located on the Grands Moulins de Villancourt heritage site in Pont-de-Claix, Isère (France), the Cosmocité Science Center is intended to be the industrial memory of the site, which was an important part of the history of the industrial and human heritage of the conurbation and the communes of Echirolles and Pont-de-Claix in the 19th and 20th centuries. The project is the winner of an architectural competition won by a Franco-Quebecois team.
Located on a site that once housed a flour mill, Cosmocité pays tribute to the site’s history while proposing a contemporary, bright architecture that fits in with the town’s urban renewal. Taking up the exact layout of the demolished building, the architects have created an assemblage of volumes that represents a fusion of the industrial past and the current scientific vocation.
The white volume, translucent and glossy, houses the circulations and related spaces, while the black volume, matte and opaque, houses all the spaces intended for the dissemination of scientific content: 80-seat planetarium, two permanent exhibition halls and a 3D immersive room. It also features animation spaces, ancillary services, and a roof terrace offering a view of the mountains surrounding Grenoble.
The monolithic, dark and mysterious aspect of the black volume, through which the eye seeks to understand its scale and lose itself in infinity, is reminiscent of the great mysteries of the universe and the place of man in the cosmos. Inside, vertical and horizontal corridors are lit by natural light and offer views over the vast landscape. In addition, a 14-metre-high Foucault pendulum crosses the building to demonstrate the Earth’s rotation. The volumetry reflects the function, and participates in the great legibility of the place: science welcoming and open to all.
The Centre de sciences Cosmocité also stands out for its ecological approach. Bioclimatic design, energy efficiency, and the choice of sustainable and local materials minimize the new building’s environmental impact.
Particular attention was paid to the landscaping and harmonious integration of the building into its surroundings: outdoor spaces include a garden, a green amphitheater and ecological parking areas, enriching visitors’educational and cultural experience. To the east of the building is an urban, mineral forecourt overlooking the Cours Saint-André, in keeping with the various flows, activities and appeal of the site. To the west, a garden takes shape, a buffer zone between the parking lots and the Cosmocité.
The building has been sited to balance the space of the western garden, and that of the eastern forecourt. The lobby and staircase are glazed to benefit from free solar gain, and encourage the public to take the staircase up to the upper floors. However, this solar gain is controlled by screen-printed glass to prevent overheating. To the west, the building opens out onto the garden and the Vercors landscape, while the cantilevered planetarium room protects it from summer rays.
Collaboration
Architect : ARCANE Architectes
Engineering : CET Bâtiment & Energie
