INRAE Laboratory in Champenoux

  • INRAE Laboratory in Champenoux, a curved timber-framed research building with vertical sunshades, glazed façades and planted atrium edge facing fields.
  • Central atrium of the INRAE Laboratory in Champenoux, with timber galleries, open staircases and planted voids under a large diffuse skylight.
  • Central planted atrium of the INRAE Laboratory in Champenoux, with timber walkways and stairs around a skylit, double-height interior garden.
  • INRAE Laboratory in Champenoux, with dark facade panels, vertical yellow-glazed openings and exposed timber gallery framing an external stair core.
  • Exterior view of INRAE Laboratory in Champenoux, showing curved south wing with dense vertical timber fins, glazed façades and planted landscape foreground.
  • Detail of the curved south wing of the INRAE Laboratory in Champenoux, showing layered timber gallery, vertical slats and glazed offices behind.
  • INRAE Laboratory in Champenoux with timber post-and-beam façades, glazed bands and external gallery, set in a landscaped lawn with mature trees.

Project description

The INRA site in Champenoux is dedicated to research in forest ecology and genomics. The project arranges offices and laboratories in two distinct volumes around a central planted atrium, naturally lit by a large skylight. The north wing is straight and smooth, while the south wing is curved and features a deep timber gallery. The building combines environmental performance and flexibility: a local timber post-and-beam structure, ground-coupled air system, miscanthus-fuelled boiler plant.

Project details

  • Address
    Champenoux, Meurthe-et-Moselle
  • Dates
    2008-2012
  • Programme
    Offices, reception areas, laboratories
  • Surface area
    1,440 m2
  • Budget
    5.5 M€
  • Regulatory framework
    RT 2005
  • Energy consumption
    42 kWh/m2/year
  • Labels
    NF HQE Tertiaire
  • Notable details
    Biomass heating plant with on-site planting, Canadian well, solid Vosges spruce structure, photovoltaic
  • Selected media
    Planète Bâtiment – avril 2013, La Lettre B – juin 2014

Credits

  • Client
    INRA
  • Lead architect
    Tectoniques (architect)
  • Project management
    Tectoniques Ingénieurs (cost consultant), Jacques Anglade (timber structure), Sechaud et Boussuyt (electrical engineering, MEP engineering), Inddigo (sustainability consultant), Itinéraire bis (landscape architect)
  • Photography
    Renaud Araud

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