The idea of creating a balance in the rural suburbs was already evident in what might be considered their first project, the Gymnasium in Echirolles.The building’s roof, whose shape and size are destined to turn it into a real landmark standing out impressively on the local landscape, looks like a huge,placid white whale gently surfacing in the water. The gym floor, built slightly below street level, can be reached through a series of glass openings, which provide ideal lighting and let people see through the building’s light, transparent shell. The roof’s geometric dynamism interacts with the surroundings through a gently installed entrance block: a brilliant idea allowing the entire complex to dialogue with the surrounding neighbourhood, characterised by a rather architecturally dishevelled urban melting pot of styles: council flats, factories, a high school and fast-running road.

The Agence Herault-Arnod was only founded in 1989, but has already designed numerous works in which the focus on the historical-environmental context is geared to constant experimentation into stylistic features drawing on the most recent developments in modern-day architecture.The works contained in this monograph - school buildings, private houses, cultural-scientific centres and so forth - clearly outline all the various factors converging in the firm’s work; its projects show a remarkable ability to handle tricky situations in urban-suburban contexts, enhancing them with austere works of architecture whose intrinsic socio-cultural values inject fresh life into difficult surroundings.

Adventures into Reason by Filippo Beltrami Gadola

Works

Maison du Japon, Paris

La Villette Flats, Paris

Lionel Terray Gymnasium, Echirolles

High School, Morestel

Gymnasium, Morestel

Information Post for the Vallee du Ferrand, Mizo~n

CNRS Laboratories, Grenoble

Galerie des Amphitheatres, Saint-Martin-d’Hers

Grands Ateliers, Isle d’Abeau

Private House, Saint. Brevin-l’Ocean

Nomad Grenoble

Primary School, Lozanne

Gymnasium, Moirans

Villa S., Corenc

New CRICR, Lyon

Francois Mitterrand Cultural Centre, Meyzieu

List of Works

Firm Profile