Cap d’Agde, Hérault, France
The following description is courtesy of A+Architecture.
Between land and sea, between living garden, belvedere and sky, between mineral and organic: the birth of a new urban centre.
A+Architecture has just completed the redevelopment of a new district at the gates of Cap d’Agde.
The agency has also completed two major facilities which, like two white concrete pearls, signal the renewal of this area, the Palais des Congrès, and the Casino.
A vast gently sloping promenade links them to the port, the heart of this seaside town created by Jean Le Couteur during the Racine mission.
Emblematic of the development, the Palais des Congrès has become the resort’s new showcase.
Connected to the Casino by a set of circular walkways, the complex offers a formidable and unprecedented three- dimensional pedestrian square that also creates a seamless connection between the new seaside resort in Agde and its historic town located a few kilometres inland.
The Palais hall extends over three levels, all three of which connect to one of the winding walkways. A very playful spatial organisation allows easy access from inside and outside, on foot or by bicycle, to all the facility’s services: lobby, exhibition hall, offices, meeting rooms and an auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,200, where turquoise blue, the only accent colour in this white complex, evokes the waves of the Mediterranean.
A large, gently sloping square is on the roof of the complex. Perched high above the site and on one side, a panoramic room, whose shape evokes a Solen (a bivalve shell commonly called a razor shell), offers exceptional views of the entire surrounding landscape.
In close collaboration with A+Architecture, Hervé di Rosa, an artist from Sète, played with the theme of the seabed in a mischievous way to design the 2,900 m2 white metal mesh sculpture that covers the two buildings of this belvedere between land, sea, and sky.
Exterior Decoration
Why Hervé di Rosa?
• The artist’s international dimension.
• The figurative and narrative nature of his work, which makes it possible to design a façade that “tells the story” of the town of Agde.
• Local knowledge. Originally from Sète, Hervé Di Rosa remains very involved in the local cultural life.
The Proposal for AGDE
A unique proposal, at the crossroads of two different types of work experimented with by Hervé Di Rosa in recent years: seascape paintings and cut metal sculptures.
For this piece, the artist combined both of these techniques and designed a cut-out metal seascape. It exemplifies all the characteristic features of Di Rosa’s work: a generous accumulation, benevolent figures, an anchoring in the local area and evidence of drawing in the design.
Sea anemones, moray eels, sardines, jellyfish, starfish, clams, wolfish, octopuses, squid, St Pierre fish, crabs, sea bream, mullet, red mullet, damselfish and hake populate this living façade around the Youth of Agde statue, a local treasure.
The work is composed of 6 panels, each of which is 90 cm wide and 3 m high. These 6 panels create a subtle repetition on the façade that combines symmetries and differences. It is through this work that art meets architecture.
In addition to being the symbol of the renewal of Cap d’Agde, the complex (conference centre and casino) is thus also the largest work of art in the world of the artist (surface area of 2,900 m2).
Project Details
Completion of the building: April 2019 2015 competition winner
Location: Cap d’Agde, Hérault (FR)
Client: City of Agde
Program: Urban design of the gateway to the city, creation of an architectural complex (Palais des Congrès, auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,200, Casino), exterior landscaping (forecourt, parking and service areas), as well as a promenade connecting the Palais des Congrès to the port
Surface area: Palais des congrès: 5800 m2 floor area Casino: 2430 m2 floor area Land: 12,3 hectares
Task: MOP law on public project contracting and its relationship to private project management
Construction cost: € excl. VAT
+ Sustainable Buildings in Occitanie Approach [Démarche Bâtiments Durables en Occitanie – BDO] bronze level
Project Management Team
Lead architect: A+Architecture
Associate architect: Philippe Escamez Architecte
Executive project manager / Scheduling, overseeing and coordination of the works: Arteba
Scenography: Crea Factory
Structural engineering: Terrell
Construction economics: L’Echo
Utilities and electricity: Celsius Environnement
Earthworks, Roads & Utility Services and electricity: (high voltage A, low voltage A, street lighting) Gaxieu
Water supply & sanitation, Roads & Utility Services, electricity: (high voltage A) Prima Groupe
Demolition: Ginger CEBTP
Thermic & environmental assessment: Celsius Environnement
Landscaping: Agence TER paysagistes / PMC Creation
Acoustics: Cabinet Vincent Hedont
Companies
Earthworks: BUESA/SOLATRAG/EIFFAGE
Facilities:
Structural works: SOGEA SUD BATIMENT / GIRAUD SERIN
Sealing, cladding: SOPREMA
Exterior joinery: BARSALOU
Façade (Di Rosa mesh sculpture): SOLATRAG
Architectural metalwork: SOLATRAG
Interior joinery: CARAYON
Partitions, linings, suspended ceilings: CUBERO
Mobile partitions: SAS EOLE
Raised floors: COMEY
Flooring: PROCERAM
Electricity, stage equipment: SOMITEG
HVAC plumbing: ROGER RENARD ENTREPRISE
Stage metalwork: TAMBE
Chairs: HUGON TRIBUNES
Signage installations: GROUPE MERIDIS
Paintwork: ATELIER MEDITERRANEEN
Lifts: KONE
Roads & Utility Services:
Wet utilities: SOLATRAG
Roads: EIFFAGE
Dry utilities: SOGETRALEC
Landscape: Entreprise PSP (Nursery, Sport, Landscape)
Street furniture: METALCO
