Location: Frontignan, France.

Architect: TAUTEM Architecture.

The Montaigne Multimedia Library in Frontignan, France is a unique and innovative building located on the site of a former sulfur factory. The exterior facade system is composed of load-bearing walls made of white concrete slabs sandwiching a layer of insulation, giving the building a uniform and sculpted aesthetic. The interior is largely open, with ribbed floor slabs supported by vertical supporting elements, providing a high degree of user flexibility. The building’s Mediterranean location influenced the configuration of openings and exterior bays, with large floor-to-ceiling openings providing ambient light for offices on the Northern facade and recessed glazed openings on the Southern facade. The building incorporates many ecological features, including airtight partitions, a turbofan double-flow ventilation system, and geothermal wells installed underground. Passive strategies are used to achieve thermal comfort, including the building’s mass, which makes use of the principle of thermal inertia, and the process of free cooling by day and night. An interior atrium amplifies the building’s use of passive strategies, distributing fresh air arriving from slatted, glazed intakes in the exterior facades and exhausts used air through a rooftop opening. The building has been recognized with environmental certifications, including Label HQE, BBC EFFINERGIE, and Label BDM Or. The Montaigne Multimedia Library is the district’s first public building and seeks to set an example for the region in environmentally conscious design and responsible energy consumption.

Photo credit: Luc Boegly.