Vérac, France
1978
Le Bélier Foundry
The project for Le Bélier Foundry was implemented in the context of an industrial design competition organised by the Agence Nationale pour l’Amélioration des Conditions de Travail (French Agency for the Improvement of Working Conditions) and won by Valode & Pistre.
Client
Program
Area
Planning
Client
Fonderie et Ateliers du Bélier
Program
Foundry extension, plant specialising in the manufacture of automotive parts
Area
1 200 m²
Planning
Delivery
1978
The aim of the competition was to contribute to the development of new methods of architectural design for factories. The extension of Le Bélier Foundry, a foundry for copper and aluminium car parts situated in Vérac near Bordeaux, was an opportunity to develop a multidisciplinary design approach (with several rounds of discussion and workshops, and the making of scale models) involving not only architects, engineers, sociologists and ergonomists, but also the foundry’s workforce and managers. This process enabled a project to be developed in which the architecture provided an overall solution to the industrial and human issues.
The building’s volumes, comprising a combination of sloping elements, juxtaposes the production areas, cloakrooms and canteen so that the foundry blends in with the landscape, just like the local winegrowers’ cellars.
The building’s volumes, comprising a combination of sloping elements, juxtaposes the production areas, cloakrooms and canteen so that the foundry blends in with the landscape, just like the local winegrowers’ cellars.
Rive Nature