Onlookers and motorists wrongly pay little attention to it and yet it is there, the building of the Primary Health Insurance Fund (CPAM) of Lot-et-Garonne, it plays with the sky, the brightness and the lights of the city, reflecting the life of the neighborhood on its glass walls.
This building was built in 1976. With the 1970s, Agen experienced a period of transition. Technical progress and land development opportunities are reaching saturation point. At that time, entrepreneur Jean-Pierre Marboutin embarked on one of the largest real estate operations in the city of Agen, with that of renovation block no. 5, on the site of the former Carmelite convent. , built in 1841, facing Place Armand Fallières, on land of more than 7,800 m².
The construction of the new Social Security constitutes only part of the program. In the second phase of work, a four-level building is also planned for offices, shops and luxury housing.
Golden name
The Social Security building follows the architectural codes of the 1970s by questioning modernism. It is based on a concrete structure, accommodates a public hall and offices on several platforms around a patio, and has an accessible terrace level.
It presents over its entire perimeter a glass curtain wall whose geometric composition is inspired by the golden ratio, and gives it all its appeal.
The operation is in fact ideally located, in the heart of the administrative center of Agen where the prefecture, courthouse, remand center and departmental archives are located today. It is made up of five different buildings mainly used as offices. However, one of the buildings, which is square in shape, accommodates 26 housing units on six levels in the center of the complex. The master plan plans to preserve as much as possible the trees in the garden of the former Carmelite convent.
At the time of the demolitions, the “discovery” of the remains of the Gallo-Roman theater of Aeginum forced the elected officials of the time to question the conditions of their preservation and the development of the site. The subject also made the headlines of the time: “The Agen amphitheater abandoned by the State to the demolitionists?” was the title of La Dépêche du Midi of March 15, 1978. However, most of the pieces found during the excavations were repatriated to the Agen museum, including an important Gallo-Roman mosaic which had rested there for almost two millennia. The delicate removal work was carried out by a team from Périgueux specializing in this type of operation in the presence of archaeologist Jerebzoff.
Pompey, the Agen architect of modernism
Architect Jacques Pompey developed a net surface area of 5,552 m² to design Social Security, to which is added 1,800 m² of underground parking. The rectangular building follows the corner formed today by rue Paul-Arjo (founder of Imprimerie moderne and du Petit Bleu) and rue Diderot, providing a parking space in front of its entrance facade. Jacques Pompey himself noted the facades of the old Carmel and the private buildings overlooking Place Armand-Fallières; the prospect of its new building respects the general height initially observed.
The characteristics of the building consist of: a reinforced concrete structure (post, beams and ribbed floors) on a grid of 7.20 by 10.80 m, which leaves the facades free; a recessed base, corresponding to the lower ground floor (semi-basement) treated with architectural concrete blocks (this concrete is obtained with formwork matrices whose internal surfaces are textured); an entrance monumentalized by the presence of an awning (which no longer exists today) and a wide staircase in reconstituted stone concrete, itself bush hammered; facades entirely covered with an anodized aluminum curtain wall whose panels compose a geometric frame inspired by the golden ratio; a large central patio with water features, large granite pebbles and plants, which contributes to natural lighting and the enjoyment of the offices on the floors in the heart of the building.
A garden terrace
Finally, on the last level, a terrace is set back with a partial garden terrace, made of a metal structure with a steel roof animated by recesses, opposing slopes and flat roofs.
For the needs of the times
In terms of the program, the CAF has its own library, its rooms dedicated to relaxation and a company restaurant which are installed on the accessible terrace. In the hall accessible to the public, the interior curved staircase which leads to the upper floors is staged facing the entrance; the dynamics of this space are created by the installation of reception desks and glass partitions which privatize the reception boxes of the beneficiary public
An essential element of the project, the curtain wall is made up of a grid with an aluminum frame, punctuated vertically by protruding uprights and horizontally by crosspieces. Uprights and crosspieces draw ternary series of quadrangular figures succeeding each other horizontally according to the following rhythm: 123-123… This rhythm derived from the golden ratio contributes to the changing perception of the facade, a perception accentuated by the chromatic use.
A mirror effect
For the glass tones, the architect chose a range of harmonic tones of dark tone. The light color of the aluminum uprights contrasts with the brown enameled glass and the bronze-colored sunshade glass. These tints reduce the shine of the glass to better exploit its mirror effect.
In the years 2000 to 2010, the canopy as well as the entrance staircase were removed, the reception hall repositioned at the level of the natural ground (accessibility) was redesigned and the new entrance was distinguished by the choice of a different chromatic range (both for aluminum sleepers and glass). Even today, by the choice of a refined volume and work on color, by the reflections of the plane trees on these facades, we can see that the architect has successfully integrated this contemporary building into a heritage context strongly marked by the buildings of the prefecture, inherited from the 18th century.
2024-02-18 04:23:56
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