MÉCA Bordeaux’s Monumental Cultural Gateway by BIG and Freaks Architects

2019-08-05 18:20

How do you preserve the autonomy of three independent cultural institutions housed in a single building while also accommodating a large public plaza for people to hang out in? This, in a nutshell, was the brief that Copenhagen, New York and London-based architectural practice BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group and Paris-based Freaks freearchitects took on when designing Bordeaux’s new cultural mecca, the Maison de l’Économie Créative et de la Culture en Aquitaine, aptly abbreviated as MÉCA. Centrally located between the River Garonne and Saint-Jean train station, MÉCA brings together three regional arts agencies – FRAC for contemporary art, ALCA for cinema, literature and audiovisuals, and OARA for performing arts – which the team has incorporated into a monumental gateway organically integrated with the surrounding urban landscape. Conceived as a loop, the building takes the form of a prismatic arch – imagine La Grande Arche by Danish Architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen in Paris’ business district La Défense, only compressed, protracted and skewed – underneath which a new public space connects the Quai de Paludate street on the one side and the river promenade on the other, inviting people “to walk around, through, above and below the new cultural gateway”, as BIG’s Founding Partner and Creative Director Bjarke Ingels explains. The building’s porous form not only facilitates urban circulation but also enables the three institutions to occupy distinct sections, OARA and ALCA are housed in the two towers while FRAC takes over the lintel-like top section.

你如何维护三个独立的文化机构在一栋大楼内居住的自主权，同时又能容纳一个大型公共广场供人们闲逛？简而言之，这就是哥本哈根、纽约和伦敦的建筑实践-Bjarke Ingels Group和总部位于巴黎的Freaks免费建筑公司-在设计波尔多的新文化圣地“Maison de l‘conomie Créative et de la culation en Akitaine”(简称M CA)时所做的简要介绍。M CA位于加龙河和圣吉恩火车站之间，汇集了三个区域艺术机构-当代艺术的FRAC、电影、文学和视听的ALCA，以及表演艺术的Oara-该小组已将这些机构有机地与周围的城市景观有机地结合在一起。这座建筑被认为是一个环形建筑-想象一下由丹麦建筑师约翰·奥托·冯·斯佩克尔森(Johan Otto Von SPrekelsen)在巴黎商业区拉德芳斯(La Défense)设计的一座棱柱拱-想象一下拉格兰德·阿奇(La Grande Arche)，它只是压缩的、旷日持久的、偏斜的-下面有一个新的公共空间，它连接着一边的夸·德帕鲁达特街(Quai De Paludate Street)，另一边是河边的长廊，邀请人们“在新的文化门户上、上面和下面四处该建筑的多孔形式不仅便利了城市的流通，而且使这三个机构能够占据不同的部分，奥拉和阿尔卡被安置在这两座塔楼中，而FRAC接管了类似林特尔的顶部部分。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

The building’s prismatic volume is formed by 4,800 prefabricated concrete panels weighing up to 1.6 tons, interspersed with various sized windows to control the amount of light reaching the interior. Sandblasted to emulate Bordeaux’s local sandstone in texture, the concrete shell is imbued with a pristine, sculptural quality that gleams in the sun, transforming MÉCA into a monumental edifice that is radical in form but familiar in sensibility. A series of steps and ramps leads the public directly to the 1,100 square metre public plaza at the core of the building, where a suspended 7-metre high chandelier spelling MÉCA functions both as a sign and a beacon. Conceived as a multifunctional “urban living room” where the activities of the three institutions spill into, the plaza can accommodate a stage for concerts and theatrical spectacles or can be transformed into an extended gallery for sculptures and other art installations, as hinted by French artist Benoît Maire’s bronze bust of Hermes on permanent display – half of which is “missing” echoing the void at the building’s core. Large bleachers on either side of the building invite people to hang out and enjoy amazing views while large windows offer views inside the building, such as OARA’s dance studio and the lobby below the plaza, courtesy of an inclined mirror. As BIG Partner Jakob Sand says, “the visitors are almost participating in an installation, just by being there”.

建筑物的棱柱体积是由4800个预制混凝土面板组成，重达1.6吨，并配以各种大小的窗户，以控制到达内部的光量。这座混凝土外壳在质地上与波尔多当地的砂岩相似，具有原始的雕塑性质，在阳光下闪闪发光，将M CA变成了一座巨大的建筑，外形激进，但在情感上却很熟悉。一系列台阶和坡道将公众直接引向建筑物核心的1100平方米公共广场，在该广场上，悬挂着7米高的吊灯拼法M CA，既可以作为标志，也可以作为灯塔。这座广场被认为是一个多功能的“城市起居室”，三个机构的活动都会扩散到这里。广场可以容纳一个舞台，举办音乐会和戏剧表演，也可以像法国艺术家贝努瓦·梅尔(Beno T Maire)在永久展示台上暗示的那样，将其改造为雕塑和其他艺术设施的展览馆，其中一半是“缺失”的，与大楼核心的空白相呼应。大楼两边的大看台都会邀请人们出去逛逛，欣赏令人惊叹的景色，而大窗户则能让人看到建筑物内的景色，比如奥拉的舞蹈室和广场下面的大厅，这都是由一面倾斜的镜子提供的。正如大合伙人雅各布·桑德(JakobSand)所言，“游客们几乎都在参与一个装置，就在那里”。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

Photo by Florent Michel.

图片来源于Florent Michel。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

Below the public plaza, MÉCA’s lobby on the ground floor is centred on a spiral pit that functions as a lounge, while the adjacent Le CREM restaurant is furnished with red tables and cork chairs that stand out against the predominantly concrete surfaces. Designed by BIG, the restaurant’s furniture reference the city’s most loved export, Bordeaux wine. From the same level, visitors can access OARA’s 250-seat theatre, which features flexible seating configurations and acoustic systems optimized by an all-black checkerboard panel of concrete, wood and perforated metal, while upstairs, filmgoers can view screenings at ALCA’s red-accented 80-seat cinema or visit the two production offices and project incubation area.

在公共广场下方，MÉCA的大堂位于底层，中心位于用作休息室的螺旋凹坑上，而相邻的LeCREM餐厅配备有红色桌子和软木椅子，它们突出于主要混凝土表面。餐厅家具由BIG设计，参考城市最受欢迎的出口，波尔多葡萄酒。从同一级别来看，游客可以进入OARA的250座剧院，该剧院具有灵活的座位配置和由混凝土、木材和穿孔金属制成的全黑色棋盘面板优化的声学系统，而楼上的电影人可以在ALCA的红色重音80个座位电影院观看屏幕，或参观两个生产办公室和项目孵化区域。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

Photo by Laurian Ghinitoiu.

照片作者：Laurian Ghinitoiu。

FRAC’s 7-metres high exhibition spaces occupy the top floors of the building, along with production studios for artists, storage facilities, a 90-seat auditorium and a café. The exhibition spaces open up to an expansive 850 square metre public roof terrace where large-scale art installations and performances can take place amid views of the city and the Basilica of St. Michael. Meanwhile, in the plaza below, the first skateboarders have already been congregating, attracted by the stepped topography, as have couples who lounge on the steps sharing a bottle of Bordeaux. “So consider MÉCA’s urban room as a blank canvas”, as Bjarke Ingels says, “or rather an empty frame, for the Bordelais to fill it with their ideas, their creativity, their culture, and to make it their own”.

弗雷克的7米高的展览空间占据了大楼的顶层，以及艺术家的制作工作室、存储设施、一个90座的礼堂和一家咖啡馆。展览空间开放至850平方米的公共屋顶露台，大型艺术设施和表演可以在城市和圣迈克尔大教堂的视野中进行。与此同时，在下面的广场上，第一批滑板爱好者已经聚集在一起，他们被台阶上的地形所吸引，情侣们也在台阶上闲逛，共享一瓶波尔多酒。Bjarke Ingels说，“所以把M.CA的城市房间当作一张空白的画布”，“或者更确切地说，是一个空的框架，让Bordelais人用他们的想法、创造力、文化来填充它，并使它成为他们自己的”。