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A craftsman’s roof

Over the last twenty years, the city of Nantes has firmly established itself as one of the major scenes of French architecture. The city’s redevelopment, especially on the Ile de Nantes, focused on an old industrial area of over three square kilometres. Compared to that programme, the “Carrousel des Olivettes” project is modest. It involved the construction of forty housing units that are part of a redevelopment programme in an area close to the centre where cottage industries, craft trades and storage of foodstuffs are the main activities. The In Situ studio had designed “La Cour des Arts”, the first phase of the area’s redevelopment, where they created a public walkway in an old bus depot transformed into a sort of 19th century arcade leading to a park at the heart of the plot. The architectural vocabulary mingles materials and reflects the spirit of the place. “Combining materials in the right way is the most complicated task for the architect”, says Patrick Beillevaire, associate and co-founder of the In Situ studio. “We wanted to work in this register, which also allowed us to remind people of the area’s various past histories.”

The “Carrousel des Olivettes” mingles colours and materials using the same disparate architectural style as the “Cour des Arts”. At its summit we can see a strange object that is sometimes compared to a metal yurt. “The building is close to a very busy road, which is difficult to reconcile with the idea of quiet surroundings associated with housing. I wanted  to make a roof that would make people think of the softness of a comfortable ottoman”, says Patrick Beillevaire. “The Compagnons du Tour de France”1 had their offices on the ground floor of the building that previously occupied the plot. I wanted the idea of skilled craftsmanship to be present in the creation of this roof. The form was obtained by deforming a double curve. To build it, we had to assemble heatformed rafter frames, as in ship-building. The zinc workers made the shingles. The skills of the roofer, plasterer and locksmith were frequently called upon during construction" concludes Beillevaire. Zinc was perfect for the multiple intersections and  hanges in slope generated by this unusual volume. This work was like haute couture roofing for the contractor, who installed a roof that pays tribute to the dexterity of the Compagnons from the building trade, while at the same time serving as an urban signal. 

1. A French organisation