We are proud to announce that we have won the competition to build the new library for the Pays des Herbiers. Unanimously approved by the Municipal Council, this project will give the young people and families in this federation of municipalities a brand-new facility, starting in 2026. Our approach to the architecture and the urban planning consists of working with what is already there in terms of existing structures, all the while seeking to design a building that exceeds its own limits. The concise architectural style serves the quality of the construction; the limited number of materials helps the building integrate into its surrounding fabric and achieve environmental efficiency, while the volumes have been staggered to manage the exposure to sunlight and the views onto the surrounding buildings. The horizontal matrix of lightly coloured concrete echoes the neighbouring homes and provides a sense of delicate refinement to the mass of the elevations, which appear like the overlaid pages of a manuscript. The project is seeking a level 2 biosourced label and a E3C1-level energy-positive carbon-reducing label.

Photo credit: AIR Studio

Atelier Cambium is proud to be one of the architecture firms selected to imagine the neighbourhoods that will surround the future train stations of the Grand Paris Express. The results of this call for expressions of interest, or AMI, were announced yesterday at the Pavillon de l’Arsenal by Société du Grand Paris and Grand Paris Aménagement.

Image credit: [Atelier] Caumes et RUA Representing Unbuilt Architecture

The  project to build the Alpes Contrôles headquarters has just crossed a major milestone with the completion of the major structural works. This technical inspection firm originally from Annecy occupies a building in a business park in Bruges whose surface area it wishes to double to house a growing number of staff, coupled with the goal of attaining BEPOS (energy-positive building) status. The floors have been designed according to a rectangular plan that is being added to the existing octagonal base, the continuity between the two ensured by the four pilasters in the superstructure. The new building will be crowned with a photovoltaic pergola whose metal frame is in the process of being assembled. The metal and glass envelope that has just been erected will harmonise the rehabilitated existing structure with the new portion. It will also include a highly performing thermal insulation. The field of geothermal probes, the second aspect of the BEPOS strategy, will be installed in May. Everything should be completed by this summer!

Photo credit: [Atelier] Caumes

> See the project

Last Friday, the INSEE statistics centre was inaugurated in the presence of Richard Smith, Secretary General of Metz, Belkhir Belhaddad, Assemblyman for the Moselle, François Grosdidier, Mayor of Metz and President of the Eurometropole urban area, and Jean-Luc Tavernier, General Director of the INSEE. The centre is housed in the former Metz imperial railway station, built in the late nineteenth century according to Johann Eduard Jacobsthal’s plans and transformed into an administrative building after just thirty years of service. As part of a series of contracts to redevelop former military sites, the French government decided in 2008 to establish a statistics centre in Metz that would employ 400 agents. Deshoulières Jeanneau led the restructuring of this monument, which comprised a significant heritage component, as well as the creation of new office spaces. We were able to recreate the original marquees and the large bay windows in the corner pavilions, and we also highlighted the cast iron columns in the interior, along with the medallions that describe the building’s initial vocation.

Photo credit:  JF. Mestre

Atelier Cambium + Deshoulières Jeanneau are looking for a construction manager to supervise their public and private work sites. The position is based in Bordeaux.

> Construction Manager (“MOEX”) job description

Atelier Cambium will participate in the “Grand Ouest” Forum for Large-Scale Urban Projects on Thursday, 9 March at the Nantes Convention Centre. Please let us know if you would like to meet us during this event.

The new year brings a new website for Atelier Cambium + Deshoulières Jeanneau!

Atelier Cambium is thrilled to unveil the new version of its website, which we developed with our partners Atelier Bilto Ortèga, Franck Dalla Santa, and Victoire Pion.

The website presents all our latest news and major projects, including the BEPOS BacLac refurbishment, the transformation of office spaces into housing units at Villa Rohan, the renovation of Niemayer’s “Volcano” in Le Havre, and the restructuring of the Bordeaux-Marne university student centre. It also features some of our other favourite projects, such as the transformation of the School of Law and Humanities for Sciences-Po Lille, the Plessis-Pâté Multimedia Library and Performing Arts Conservatory, and the Saint-Brieuc Centre for Dance and Music, among many others. Our manifesto explains the multiple origins of our name and our working methods and philosophy.

The latest episode of the television programme “Esprit des Lieux”, produced (in French) by Tewfik Hakem for France Culture, focuses on the building known as the “Volcano” in Le Havre. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the late 1970s, this emblematic site in Le Havre was redeveloped by Deshoulières Jeanneau Architectes between 2010 and 2015.

Dominique Deshoulières was interviewed about the firm’s work and the city of Le Havre’s decision to adapt the monument to users’ current needs, bring it up to code, and improve its insertion into the surrounding urban environment.

Link to the podcast

After opening to students and teachers in September 2022, the Inter-Municipal Performing Arts Conservatory was officially inaugurated on 26 November 2022 by Grégoire de Lasteyrie, Mayor of Palaiseau, President of the Inter-Municipal Federation, and Regional Councillor, in the company of elected officials from the Department, the City, and the Municipal Federation. 

The inauguration marks the successful conclusion of Deshoulières Jeanneau Architectes’ work with the project managers and contractors that began with the needs expressed by the Paris-Saclay Community in the competition that was awarded to the firm in 2018.

The team at Atelier Cambium + Deshoulières Jeanneau Architectes wants to wish you a very Happy New Year!