BUILDING WITH EARTH

The community of municipalities of Couesnon Marches de Bretagne has entrusted us with the project management of a media library with the ambition of being a Third Place in the municipality of Bazouges-la-Pérouse. Defined as a "Third Place", the media library was conceived as a cultural space, a meeting place, a hub of citizen life, an expression venue, open to all and for various purposes.

This rehabilitation and extension was designed to enhance historical heritage and serve as a manifesto for ecological construction while also meeting the demand to promote community living.

The aim was to design a landmark, exemplary building using earth as the primary material, in partnership with Ecobatys and Bruded, employing sustainable materials consistent with the heritage context, and with a strong environmental ambition: energy-efficient and low-carbon (E3 C1) in its construction and maintenance.

The cross-cutting participatory approach led by the architects facilitated the appropriation of the building, also offering the sharing of construction technique knowledge to various audiences during the design phase, with the involvement of the end users, and every stakeholder present: users, managers, clients, the public, volunteers, etc., to jointly define a versatile and capable space.

For the construction phase, the organization of participatory building sites involving residents, training sites (for earth masons in Ecobatys' training program), and insertion sites, focused on the production and implementation of earth, allowing for the appropriation of the building, as well as the sharing of construction technique knowledge with various audiences.