Department Council Annex in Upper Rhin, Strasbourg, France

Competition 2011. 1st prize

It is a project to expand the current Council building in Upper Rhin, located at one of the city’s old town’s ends, known as the Petite France.

The expansion project involves offices, parking lots and a restaurant for the building’s users and it consists of two different parts. A part includes the construction of a story on top of one of the buildings of the current complex and the rest is located in the adjacent plot. The project considers this characteristic and gives a solution evaluating both situations.

Regarding the new story construction, the project is much more conservative, trying to have the best possible integration with the existing building and, at the same time, attempting to crown it. On the contrary, the building on the adjacent plot reflects a different conception. It has an interior patio and a double glass facade that provides thermal insulation to the building as it also accomplish maximum luminosity and lightness.

The facade acts as a diaphragm that passes in front of the patio. This facade is conceived with an ascending rhythm, which originates from a stony baseboard. This way, it connects to a classic and traditional spirit that is no stranger to the double facade concept of the Strasbourg Cathedral, although, in our case, this is done for more functional reasons.

Authors: Linazasoro&Sánchez Arquitectura, Thienot&Ballan&Zulaica Architectes
Collaborators: Hugo Sebastián de Erice, Sergi Artola