Arlette Bosch, Deputy Mayor of Tours in charge of the elderly and solidarity, Vice-President of the communal center of social action.

Denis Guihomat, Director of the communal center of social action.

Luc Mahaut, Director of the Trois Rivières and Monconseil retirement homes

Stéphane Roy, Plee Constructions - Structural Work

Stéphane Garnier, Soriba company - architectural concrete

Irina Cristea and Grégoire Zundel, AZC - Architects

Margot Guislain

The architecture responds above all to a command, that is to say to a concrete need. Subject to the imperative of sustainability, it must be at the service of users to take into account their comfort and well-being. Working on projects in the medical field - psychiatric hospital for children, retirement home, baby mother unit, rehabilitation clinic and follow-up care, nursing home - request to approach each project with the necessary pragmatism.

Program, site and budget, are three golden rules that impose their strength, their unavoidable needs, but which, taking them with patience and creativity, are an opportunity to give the building owner and building users a " I do not know what", besides who does everything.

First, immerse yourself in the program to understand all the workings, then give it an added value by allowing other uses, through the work of details. The site dictates its laws but, in exchange, can be modeled, magnified. And the budget, which is important, which tames the project but which, by radical architectural choices, brings relief and identity. With these three parameters as guides, it is clear more than ever, that the hero of the adventure is not the architect but the project itself.

To share this experience and inform the projects, AZC invited different stakeholders - owners, users, companies to give their point of view on the realization of medical equipment in which, together, they are involved.

Program

Where did the decision to build Monconseil retirement home come from?

AB: The home care needs of dependent elderly people and people with Alzheimer's disease were overwhelming. Hence the decision of our board of directors to immediately embark on the adventure of a fourth retirement home meeting these two expectations, we decided to keep the project management for the construction of this fourth establishment. From the beginning, we wanted this retirement home to be exemplary. We set up working groups with CCAS administrators and staff members: nurses, caregivers, social workers, cooks, psychologists, ambulance attendants … Every staff member let us know what they wanted: we wanted understand what an "ideal retirement home" might look like We managed to introduce some original program elements while entering into the budget envelope that we set ourselves so that people with modest incomes could stay in Monconseil.

What is the big challenge of this achievement?

AB: This is not an establishment realized by a large group and delivered turnkey, but of a structure which asked all the actors of the project a personal investment, made of humility before the stakes, d a healthy curiosity about innovation but also a great determination in front of administrative requirements and the follow-up of the financial commitments. This retirement home, we can say that it was the staff who made it. May he be thanked. Architects make a work of art and we want to make it inhabited. I can see now that, in terms of architecture and users, she is referring to it. Everyone is talking about the "beautiful retirement home Monconseil".

Did you have to make concessions?

DG: Indeed, when we defined our program, the field was not yet chosen, and we then worked on what we thought would be our ideal retirement home. We wanted a building at R + 1, with all the collective spaces on the ground floor and all the accommodation spaces on one floor because, as I said before, the teams work much more easily in a horizontal way than vertical. *

DG: The project has benefited from previous experiences and the mistakes have not been replicated. For example, the building has only two floors, not five as is the case for another of our retirement homes. Indeed, too many levels pose operational problems because the staff can not afford, for the safety of residents, to temporarily leave a floor. Monconseil is to this day our most successful retirement home.

What do you expect from an architect for the realization of a retirement home?

LM: The adequacy between the architecture of the building and the needs related to the care of residents: where do we sleep? In floor, on the ground floor? On how many levels? How to locate the rooms according to the pathologies? Where to place staff premises so that it can work calmly and efficiently?

The architect must first be able to respond to this type of questioning, the aesthetic comes second. Because it's up to the building to adapt to the users and not the other way around. If regulatory bodies engage with users and architects, we could change the standards in terms of room surface, adapt accessibility standards to people with disabilities depending on the context, since in this area, we in fact too much, not enough.

The architect must use his talent to integrate a whole arsenal of medical equipment in the most rational way, without producing a hospital atmosphere. For example, oxygen extractors must be easily accessible, but do not hang out in the hallways. In Monconseil, the architects managed to find this place for them.

Site

This retirement home is one of the first buildings to come out of the ground in the Monconseil ZAC, a new eco-district in the middle of a building located north of Tours. What were the influences of urban regulation on project design?

AZC: Our first sketch in the competition phase proposed a low construction, of a single floor, displayed on the ground, pierced with patios and protected from the urban agitation. The client's specifications - the municipal center of social action - tended towards this type of architecture. The "ideal home" that they had imagined during a long phase of consultation with all the staff could be read there.

On the other hand, the planning regulations issued by the ZAC called for equipment turned towards the city, as high as possible and in perfect alignment with the street. In fact, the two documents had been drawn up independently, so we found ourselves faced with two divergent, almost contradictory requests.

How did you resolve this contradiction?

AZC: With the final sketch, it was clear that we had given up "the little house on the meadow", difficult to achieve given the constraints of urban planning, but also in terms of budget savings: everything therefore helped to guide us to the figure of the "bar". According to urban regulations, we aligned the building on the street, placed the garden entirely at the back, and gathered the rooms on two floors above the ground floor. The building then became compact. But in architecture, the memory of the first sketch never disappears altogether. The first desires resist and creep into the new project, as constrained as it is. Thus, the original small house was able to take shape with the Alzheimer unit, a small square-shaped building, entirely on the ground floor and organized around a planted patio. Through a large bay window, transparency is created that visually links the interior garden of this unit with the main one of the retirement home, which then takes the status of a large patio.

As we won the competition in front of a jury made up of CCAS members, elected officials and the chief architect of the ZAC, it is likely that our final project was able to reach consensus, that is, to reconcile the ideals of the CCAS and the realities of the ZAC Monconseil.

Bar more concrete: the association can be scary. How did the choice of concrete prevail?

An all-wood building would have caused summer comfort problems at room temperature, and this is particularly important for a retirement home. Not only does concrete have the advantage of having good thermal inertia, but it is also cheaper and more environmentally friendly than wood since, in Europe, cement plants are never far from a construction site. Moreover, in Tours, there is a real tradition of concrete: companies have a real know-how which it would be a shame not to take advantage.

And then, a great opportunity to work concrete in a very particular way came during the studies: the CCAS came to ask us for a fresco that animate the facade by evoking the lives of residents. With reason, it seemed to them necessary that the retirement home is not anonymous, but displays its identity in this new district of Tours. We seized their request, but rather than a painted decoration, we proposed to them to play with the same material of the concrete so as to reveal, by means of a sandblasting, motifs of tapestry on all the facades. This is a direct reference to the history of Tours which, as a former city of silk, supplied the kingdom of France in fabrics of all kinds. With such a finish, the concrete, even raw, becomes here velvet.

Looking back, how do you see this achievement today?

The contest was won in 2006: today, we would have held more on our belief to break the building into several plots. But in return, the linearity of the bar, more economical, allowed to implement the materials in a more noble way: the concrete facades have a very special finish thanks to this tapestry effect, the windows are aluminum, the fake ceilings are in perforated metal and not in fiber and the furniture has been chosen to measure. But what is most important in this building is the absence of overbid: there is no extraordinary lighting but generous interior spaces and everywhere bathed in natural light. Indeed, the dimensions of the windows are such that the total glazed area of the building is almost twice the minimum required by the regulations. And that's a lot ...

Architecture and technique

Do you think that architecture has fulfilled its mission here?

LM: The architects have created small friendly living units with a common space in the center of each floor and smaller, room-sized, traffic-oriented lounges that allow you to sit quietly within a few minutes. each. With such a gradation of the collective to the private, the intimacy of the rooms is preserved without sacrificing the meeting. For those who need to be reassured by the presence of the staff, it is even possible to keep the door of the room open without suffering noise. This possibility of isolating oneself in a community life is important for residents who, very often, suddenly move from the private world of their home to the collective one of the retirement home. Everyone needs to have both a social living space and a place to meet oneself.

The design of the unit for people with Alzheimer's disease, with rooms on the ground floor and an interior patio where they can walk safely, also contributes to a good architectural reflection.

What were the first impressions of staff and residents when they arrived?

LM: The corridors appeared to be huge and at first the staff even wanted roller skates! But finally everyone was satisfied with the organization, very rational, floors. The light gray circulations and collective spaces also raised fears: the staff felt they were in a hospitable world! But he understood this choice when the colored furniture arrived. This has all balanced and done away with this first impression! In the same way, the differences of colors on the doors and the small vestibule of entrance of each room give marks to the residents. However there is a flat to put on the red - considered too violent by many - some rooms, which have had trouble finding takers. And a flat too on the too light shade of concrete in the garden, which causes dazzling.

Concrete does not always have a good image in the eyes of users. What about here?

DG: Thanks to the motifs that run through the façades and recall the history of Tours and its former silks, it is no longer just concrete walls. The tapestry effect produced is the architectural "mark" of the establishment. It is important for residents and their families to have a beautiful building in which they can identify. He is neither sad nor old and not fragile: he is solid and contemporary.

During the development of the project, on which points did you have to reframe the architectural design?

DG: The only doubt that there has been concerns the choice of colors made by the architects. We had to find a deal by reducing the too much, and reducing the painted surfaces in the rooms. But the result, they continue to be controversial: there are those who do not like the red, too violent, others green … Sometimes, the rooms are difficult to attribute. On the other hand, in the circulations, the colors of the furniture are cheerful and pass very well.

That a shell company makes tapestry patterns is rather unexpected. How did you respond to this order?

SR: For this type of work, we work in collaboration with Soriba, a very specialized company in the realization of concretes with particular finishes: texture, relief, patterns … What was the case at Monconseil retirement home where the facades concrete are covered with a plant motif of four meters by four which is repeated to form a huge tapestry, evoking the history of Tours and its former silks. Our technical design office - Haller - first designed all the concrete panels according to their location on the facades, the size of the windows, the plans of reinforcement, particular for each of them as these panels are not laid in cladding but constitute the very supporting structure of the building.

These preliminary studies resulted in a façade layout plan from which Soriba was able to realize, one by one and very meticulously, a hundred panels, none of which are quite similar to the other. Thanks to this high level of precision, the construction company Plee Constructions has assembled the facades by assembling the panels to the nearest centimeter to ensure the continuity of the upholstery on all sides of the building. Imagine: one mistake on the study and the prefabrication of a panel and it is all the others that should have been remanufactured!

SG: We first thought to reproduce the vegetal motif of the tapestry with the technique of stamped concrete. But we proposed that of the stencil, from a stainless steel plate on which the pattern is reproduced by laser cuts.

First, we just put the steel stencil on the panel following the calepinage made in design office. In a second step, we attack the concrete by projection of sand, air and water with a machine (process called hydro sandblasting), as if we passed the panel to Kärcher. In this way, in the hollows of the stencil, the thinnest and lightest components of the cement are detached from the surface of the concrete, revealing the thickest and darkest aggregates. This results in a darker shade of the pattern reproduced on the concrete.

It is therefore by contrast between light concrete and dark concrete that the pattern is drawn. But his complete design overlapping several panels, it was necessary to position the stencil each time differently to reproduce in its entirety. This required a long and careful preparation that we carried out using a suitable software.

What satisfaction do you get from such an original realization?

SR: On most of the buildings we build, our work is not visible once the site is finished, since the masonry is usually covered with a siding or plaster. On the other hand, at Monconseil retirement home, the concrete is still there, showing a complex implementation, with a very original finish. When we pass the building, we turn our heads towards the building, happy to have participated in its construction.

SG: The requirement of the architects was very great and was granted with our technical imperatives. The prefabrication of the panels in the workshop made it possible to work quickly, cleanly, sheltered from the dust and the hazards of the building site. In addition, thanks to the use of silicone, the joints between the panels are very attenuated, and what we see first, it is therefore a facade upholstered.

Budget

Why did you choose the Zündel and Cristea project?

DG: It was the project that seemed closest to our ideal home. We wanted indeed spacious and pleasant corridors that are indoor walks. Because we must take into account that most older people leave very little outside because of mobility problems and in summer they suffer from heat. Residents must therefore want to walk inside the building, which is the case in Monconseil thanks to the small rooms that punctuate traffic, the abundance of natural light, the views of the outside …

Another important criterion: the realistic operating costs in the Zündel and Cristea project. Other projects were discarded only because they did not take them sufficiently into account. For example, the green walls: it's beautiful but it's not for us, we do not have the means to maintain them. It must be realized that this is primarily a nursing home that depends on social assistance.

What made you think that the operating costs would be acceptable in the selected project?

DG: Its architectural sobriety that does not prevent the aesthetic dimension: the facades, even if they are very original, do not require more maintenance than the usual remodelings, widely spaced in time. We also saw that to clean the glazing there would be no need to use a basket or to call a mountain climber, as is the case for another of our establishments, because of its entirely glazed facades of which the windows do not open.

It is a whole set of details like these, which one does not necessarily perceive during the contest, and which make flambé the costs of maintenance. But when we have been scalded, we pay attention. In this sense, this project was able to benefit from the realization of our three previous retirement homes. In this type of establishment, we prefer to put the means at the service of residents rather than spend our time repainting the walls and mowing the lawns …

I work mainly from London, on a wide variety of arts projects. I’m a firm advocate for the ‘almost anything is possible’ and ‘make it happen’ schools of thought, I left the world of investment banking a few years ago to concentrate on my passion for art, architecture and design, and during the global recession came up with the idea of organizing architectural competitions. It seemed unfair that the creative industries should pay such a heavy price for the downturn; the pressure was on for the architectural profession, which relies so heavily on the availability of financial resources. I was very aware of the fundamental role competitions and awards played in the world of architecture, and wanted to be involved in projects large and small, built and un-built – both valuable in their own rights. ArchTriumph was born: with a friend, we set out to run various architecture competitions, a mission driven by sheer passion. I had always wanted to set up a project for an intervention in a public space, like Pavilion, and ArchTriumph provided the platform.

ArchTriumph, the Triumph of Architecture and Design, is a platform for architectural exploration and presentation, a celebration of the role of architecture and design in our lives and the world around us. We provide an avenue for experimentation for architects and designers that brings them both invaluable publicity and potential financial reward. Unconventional projects, which I prefer to call innovative projects, are made public through competitions, exhibitions and installations. They capture the public’s imagination and spark discussion on the subject, the site, the structure, and the architects themselves. ArchTriumph projects, even as un-built proposals, can make a community think differently about itself. And when they are built they make a clear positive impact on the immediate community. Take the example of AZC’s 2013 Peace Pavilion for east London’s Museum Gardens. Both residents and local politicians were enormously proud of the elegant structure, welcoming the kind of project that is more often seen in the more affluent areas of the city to their neighborhood. These projects draw attention to their sites and their sites’ potential, prompting people to use them, and to use them differently. They bring architecture and design to a place where they can resonate with a wider audience in a very direct way.

Bouncing Bridge

In 2012, we launched a competition to design a new, contemporary bridge over the River Seine in Paris to challenge the existing notions of bridges. We hoped for exciting and challenging ideas. AZC’s project, entitled « Saut de Seine », brought a smile to the face of every member of the competition panel. We all agreed that it was one of the best proposals for its sheer audacity. The project came third in the competition, but was widely embraced by press and public, who rechristened it the “Trampoline Bridge”. I don’t think you always expect the general public to like or approve of the decisions made by a panel, but when a risk pays off it is great.

Even though it didn’t win the competition, it is a project that remained in everyone’s mind to some degree long after the final selection.

The success of the bridge was in the marriage of project and city, which captured our imagination. Maybe the combination of innovation, romance and fun was too much for the public to resist. I think that a project like the Bouncing Bridge would transform views of Paris, casting it in the light of a city with ambition, fun, and where going out on a limb is encouraged. I could see this bridge in London on a stretch of the River Thames. Maybe we should talk to our Mayor…!

Peace Pavilion

Every summer, ArchTriumph installs a pavilion in the gardens of the Museum of Childhood, an annex of the Victoria & Albert Museum. The Peace Pavilion was our first summer pavilion. The Peace Pavilion was an anonymous competition entry but I immediately had a strong suspicion that the ‘Fun Architects’, as I had dubbed Irina Cristea and Grégoire Zündel following the Bouncing Bridge competition, were behind it. The project replied to the brief, was elegant, innovative and bold, and resonated with that year’s theme of Peace. It was selected and sure enough, it was AZC.

The panel was initially concerned that the project would prove to be high maintenance, even after we had assured the Health & Safety officers that helium gas would not be used! Concerns were also expressed about the project coming in on budget and on time. But in our quest for innovation, we were quickly convinced that we needed to give it our full support, and the decision proved to be right.

The Peace Pavilion transformed the way the gardens were used, the routes people took and the numbers of visitors. It changed the way the local community saw the space and the neighbourhood – they now anticipate each year’s new project. Many expressed their wish that the Peace Pavilion be installed permanently. The pavilion was used by visiting schools for shelter during lunch breaks, short lessons and discussion following a visit to the Museum. Children played in it, families held picnics, it provided a meeting point for friends and held poetry readings and music concerts; it was used as the backdrop for photographic shoots. The Peace Pavilion was widely and enthusiastically received.

Battersea Power Station

We chose London’s iconic Battersea Power Station as the site for an ideas competition, for the installation of an architecture museum, out of frustration after yet another proposal for its redevelopment came to nothing. Designed by Giles Gilbert Scott in the 1930s, Battersea Power Station is an iconic structure and landmark for Londoners, even more so than its slightly later sister building at Bankside, now home to the highly successful Tate Modern after a sensitive restoration and redevelopment.

I have always loved Battersea Power Station It is a structure I passed on my train route home as a teenager, I was fascinated by its sheer volume and the size of the chimneys – it is a fantastic urban castle. Money no object, I would gladly make it my home!

Irina Cristea and Grégoire Zündel, winners of the competition, used the idea of a theme park, putting in a roller-coaster that would enable visitors to explore the power station from every angle. This entry confirmed their nickname as the ‘Fun Architects’ forever.

Ideas competitions can open minds. They are founded on creativity rather than any kind of formulaic approach, and lay open the site for all to consider – members of the public, architects, developers and politicians. Every project, architectural or political, starts with an idea, without an idea there is no starting point, no trigger for discussion, no argument for change.

TP Arquitectura i Construcció Tèxtil is a family business specialising in textile constructions. We were set up 30 years ago by Ton Miserachs and Pilar Navarro in Catalonia. Our aim has always been to offer a personalised service. By refusing to manufacture in series and turning down projects for standardised constructions, we have been free to concentrate on technical creativity, with each new project a new challenge.

We are constantly looking for new materials and technical innovations that allow us to respect architects’ and designers’ designs while proposing technical improvements. From the outset we have worked closely with Professor Ramon Sastre, PhD, Architect, and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. These relationships allowed us to benefit from the very first software for the calculation of tensile and inflatable structures, WinTess, developed by Ramon Sastre. As the software has been improved and refined, he has involved us in every stage of its development. From being a system that required new calculations for every stage of the process, WinTess has become a genuine design and construction tool (CAD/CAM) providing support for our skills.

With the benefit of experience, technical improvements and an increasingly qualified team, we have been able to diversify our activity. Now working alongside some of our children, we began developing a series of renewable energy solutions in 2009, specifically in the biogas sector under the brand Upbiogas. Once again we recognised the importance of innovation and, in collaboration with the university and Ramon Sastre, have developed the world’s first software for calculating roof structures for biogas digesters. We have managed to rationalise and reduce risk in the calculation and dimensioning of every element for the development of single- or double-membrane roofs for digesters. The software is very complete, offering calculations based on stresses, anchorage, storage volume, gas pressure and pattern-cutting for particular roof geometries.

As the company has developed, our research has particularly concentrated on managing the energy consumption of the pumps used for inflation. As a result, we have rejected stitching in favour of high-frequency welding, often double welding. A testing system currently under construction will allow us to test resistance and air-tightness before installing a roof. This process will enable us to increase the resistance and durability of the welding, but also to control internal pressure because there will no longer be any air lost via the holes made by stitching. So we are producing inflatable structures that are more or less airtight, with pressure control. Air pumps will function only when necessary. In this way, the volume of air inside the structure is not affected by external loads and tension, which is essential for withstanding wind or snow. Being able to control all these parameters means that we can precisely define coefficients and the limits of resistance and establish a security protocol. We work with textiles that are 100% recyclable, even at the end of their life. Following the establishment of the Texyloop system, even the smallest pieces can now be recycled. What motivates us at TP Arquitectura i Construcció Tèxtil is the creation of one-off pieces that are lasting and safe, the product of our long years of experience.

Bouncing Bridge

We originally came across pictures of the Bouncing Bridge on social media. We were really impressed with AZC’s project and naturally wanted to track them down to congratulate them and to propose our collaboration. It is unusual for people outside of the world of textile constructions to conceive a project that is striking in its design and almost entirely realisable. AZC’s reply was immediate and we quickly got to work making a first prototype at 1:10 to test the behaviour of the inflatable structure and the trampoline mesh. A second model at 1:3, produced thanks to updates to WinTess, confirmed the viability of the project.From the first picture we saw of the Bouncing Bridge we were certain that this project was realisable. There was plenty of work to do and technical issues that needed resolving before that could happen, but most importantly the design fitted with the materials to be used. The Bouncing Bridge adventure has introduced us to two architects who, in their experience and professionalism, share our attitude to life and work. They are in touch with the child in us all.  They’re driven by their emotions, which allows them to listen to their craziest ideas – like the one to build a bridge for bouncing on. A trampoline bridge? Why not!

The Peace Pavilion

The Peace Pavilion benefitted greatly from the tests carried out for the Bouncing Bridge. We were already aware of the capabilities of each of the project’s participants. That allowed for a real dialogue to be established: the designs were developed as the technical team modified and checked them. This time we knew that we wouldn’t be able to make any test models. WinTess was very useful for conceiving this project. Following his experiences on the Bouncing Bridge, Ramon Sastre developed the software’s capabilities, tailoring it to requirements. Despite its apparent simplicity, the Peace Pavilion demanded a rigorous approach because the beauty of its shape stems from the infinite variety of perspectives it offers. One never knows with an inflatable structure whether one has succeeded until it is inflated. During manufacture it is little more than a pile of fabric. Once the design is defined, we have to be meticulous in the organisation at each stage of the manufacturing process. The roof of the Peace Pavilion, a surface area of 49.8 sq m, was made from 132 pieces. It was a real challenge to calculate this canopy, made in pre-tensioned PVC. The shape’s complexity required precision to the millimetre to avoid any folds. Thanks to the performance of the pattern-cutting software, the precise cutting by numerical control and the quality of the welding, we achieved the perfect dimensions. In textile architecture, pre-tensioned PVC usually deviates by 0.5%. That means that the roof needs to be 0.5% smaller than the structure so that it will attain the correct dimensions when it is under the necessary tension. Unfortunately, at the pressure required for the structure, the diameter of the tube increased by 1% and required us to modify the dimensions of the roof. Using the final dimensions, we tested various loads in order to verify rigidity and define the dimensions of the roof in pre-tensioned textile. The Peace Pavilion is a jewel. Its design is very beautiful, very simple, and very delicate. Realising it required the most advanced technologies and all the skill that comes from many years of experience.

The Flower Pavilion

The Bouncing Bridge and the Peace Pavilion are both integral objects. To build them requires the assembly of a number of different pieces but once constructed they become one single element – an inflated tube – that is both horizontal and vertical, wall and roof. The unity and apparent simplicity of the object make both these projects very appealing. The Flower Pavilion is a more architectural project. It takes its inspiration from nature – a flower – to which it adds a material dimension while maintaining the feeling of a natural shelter. Our design needed to be stable, easily disassembled and transportable. To convince the client of the project’s feasibility, we decided to make a prototype. The project’s complexity derived in part from the assembly of the vertical posts with the horizontal roof, each having a different function in terms of forces, and in part in designing the metal structures that encircle the inflatable modules of the roof. Curved structures, like the petals of the pavilion roof, require a particular level of precision because the deformation forces they are subject to are more complex. Plus we had to consider the affect of air pressure on the petals when they are inflated, particularly because the climate in Berlin would require a high-level of air pressure. In order to be able to fit the different petals together and anticipate water run-off, we had to minimise any deformation. Although the shape of the petals themselves was good for working in compression, we nonetheless planned for a thick frame to ensure minimum deformation. When we inflated the various petals, the forces were incredible and we had to reinforce the metal joints that linked the frames because they were deforming by several millimetres more than anticipated. Following adjustments to the pressure and the thickness of the frames, we were able to get the roof right.

In addition to its technical success, the project generated immediate enthusiasm. During testing near our premises, the children of the neighbouring village, intrigued by this flower, quickly came to join us. We made the most of their energy to test the solidity of the pavilion by getting them to bounce on its inflatable roof. And an engineer friend who teaches agronomy at the Institut la Garrotxa in Olot, wanted to use the project for the Temps de Flors festival, which each year fills the city of Girona with flowers.