Design Educates Awards 2022

Located in the heart of Cergy, the existing refectory, erected in 1993, has the privilege of being set in the François Mitterrand Park. Discreetly embedded in the topography, it faces a paradox: while benefiting from a privileged position, the refectory suffers both from a lack of visibility and from interior spaces that are little enhanced by its lack of links with the outside The restructuring project is thus an opportunity to reappropriate and inhabit the landscape qualities of the site, in order to affirm it as a strong component of the park, well anchored in its context and uses. The original building also displays genuine architectural qualities: a durable, prefabricated, deactivated concrete envelope, a traced and flexible construction system, and a wealth of user features. The project develops a double programmatic component: the in-depth renovation of the refectory's 2000 m², and the addition of an extension, called the kiosk, enriching the refectory' s initial offer. The program is spread over the two original floors, accessible on the same level thanks to the topographical movements of the land. Forming a semi-subterranean mineral base, the garden level includes the dining room - which opens on the park - and the kitchens - in its rear part. The interventions consist in reinforcing the relationship between the interior and the exterior, in order to bring more light and views to the dining areas, and to enhance their uses. Thus, the openings in the façade were enlarged by removing the spandrels, the sloping ground was reshaped following the removal of the retaining wall and the new glazed façade became an opportunity to create more visible entrances. The materials used were dictated by the need to make the space as generous as possible. The light grey resin floor, the glossy white tiles with green joints, the expanded metal elements and the acoustic baffles made of partly replaced mineral tiles, guarantee the flexibility and legibility of the dining space required by its program. The extension is modest in size and consists of solid multi-plywood panels positioned in the continuity of the initial framework on the upper level that reach out into the park to extend the roof. On the existing side, the kiosk deploys an opaque technical band covered with a reflective cladding of corrugated sheet metal identical to the roof, interacting with the entrance. On the park side, the refectory area opens entirely onto the landscape through a transparent and rhythmic envelope made of a curtain wall of green spines. This light pavilion becomes a unifying element between the different parts of the refectory, allowing it to assert its presence while ensuring the architectural coherence of the whole Through a sober and economical design, the project demonstrates how work on the existing building accompanies the repositioning of an ordinary programme such as a "resto U" allowing it, through