Avon Media Library by MU Architecture

The town of Avon will gain a new médiathèque in 2019, to be built not far from its existing library. Its design has been entrusted to MU Architecture, working with the engineering consultancy Studetech, for a fee of €3,000,000 excluding VAT.

The winning practice, MU Architecture, is a young Paris-based firm founded in 2009 by Maïra Caldoncelli Vidal and Ludovic Malbet, and since joined by Grégoire Dubreux. All three studied at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris Val-de-Seine. Last year the practice received the European 40 under 40 award, and it was an AJAP winner in 2012.

Avon is a town of 14,000 inhabitants on the edge of Fontainebleau, in the Seine-et-Marne département. The new médiathèque stands close to the forêt du Bel Ebat and the Collège de la Vallée, in a heavily wooded setting.

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The building draws its character from its serrated façade. The interplay of roof pitches makes it possible to absorb the trapezoidal shape of the plot. They also conceal chimneys, some serving air renewal, others bringing natural light into the médiathèque.

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"The new programme is symbolised by bringing its roof to life, turning it into a stage for cultural activity that is particularly visible from the viaduct. The roof, the fifth façade, becomes a landscape and an architectural landmark for the Pôle culturel at the scale of the wider area," the architects explain. The project is rooted in the ground so as to follow the levels of the neighbouring building, which places it one metre below the road; this has not stopped the architects from providing fully glazed façades.

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The building is also ventilated by a central patio, around which the various spaces of the médiathèque are organised. The entrance opens onto the adult collections and, once past the patio, the children's and young people's areas unfold. The project also includes a cultural events hall between the rue du Vieux Ru and the entrance forecourt. Seating around fifty people, it is designed to operate entirely independently of the médiathèque.

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In terms of energy, its performance meets the requirements of the RT 2020 regulations. Part of the médiathèque will be covered by a green roof. It is also worth noting that the project is being developed using BIM.