Charles Nègre media library, Grasse

Text by Laurent Beaudouin. Anglais Text by Laurent Beaudouin. "The Grasse media library is inspired by the character of Grasse's urban structure, the tensions and proximities between buildings. As a counterpoint to this density, the media library offers visual openings onto the neighborhood and the distance. The project uses the presence of program elements with a degree of independence to create several levels of access. At the bottom of the site, the hall on Rue Droite serves as a common foyer for the exhibition room and auditorium, while an open arcade in an existing building improves access to Place Vercueil. This square is designed to accommodate restaurants and service vehicles. The square is linked to Rue de la Lauwe by a pedestrian walkway running alongside the city's water reservoir, opposite the exhibition hall. The media library is partly cantilevered over the old reservoir. This layout forms the basis of the new building's static diagram. The building's horizontal stability is ensured from the center by the reinforced concrete walls of the stairwell and elevator shafts, as well as by independent, thick transverse walls. The addition of the latter limits the vertical axis torsion resulting from seismic action. The cross-walls and cores are embedded in the substructure, and function as brackets, like "masts".As the bracing is not symmetrical and is also eccentric to the building's center of gravity, particular attention is paid to induced torsional effects. As the action of the earthquake can be assimilated to a fraction of the self-weight applied horizontally, the horizontal "vault structure functioning as beams" optimizes the self-weight of the primary structure and consequently reduces the associated seismic force. A seismic reinforcement study was carried out on the existing structure, enabling it to retain its typology while improving overall rigidity and its footing on the existing ground.