La Courrouze is a recently developed urban district a little over a mile from Rennes. It’s a place with sweeping views, where modern infrastructure and sustainable transport combine with areas that retain something of a pristine appearance, with lush vegetation dotted with small houses. Resembling a fortress or castle with grounds, the Antipode youth and cultural center stands out from the oaks and rich plant life that surround it.
The boldness of the architecture, the work of Dominique Coulon & Associés, reflects the central role it plays in the local area, with the building housing a cultural center for young people, a media library, music practice rooms, dance studios, a recreation center, an auditorium, and recording studios.
Intertwining pathways and an absence of hierarchies
The architects’ brief was complex and nuanced, with the building needing to host a large number of different functions. Dominique Coulon & Associés resolved this complexity with architecture that’s almost labyrinthine, in which the different spaces, enclosed like boxes by overlapping and interlocking volumes, are arranged around a large nucleus: the Agora. And, like the ancient Greek place of meeting, discussion, and exchange, this space connects the different blocks to one other while also opening onto a patio. The spaces – the media library, music rooms, dance studios, recording studio, and cultural center – are divided by function across multiple levels. Like a single mass from which volumes have been subtracted, the architecture seems carved out by intersecting voids within a labyrinth.
Its functions are layered and, as if offering chances to pause, are punctuated by small landings, connecting corridors, and internal courtyards where visitors can meet and relax. The organization of spaces seems to have been done without a precise hierarchy, and without favoring certain pathways, perspectives, or views. The only element that dominates the entire building is light, which enters through large floor-to-ceiling windows, and, together with the extensive views outside, gives visitors a sense of orientation.
>>> Also read about the Des Tournelles cultural center in Chessy
Architectural dualism
Dominique Coulon describes the building as “architecture of gaps and relationships.” Underscoring this, the materials create an interplay of contrasting materiality and lightness.
The interiors of the common areas are finished with extremely smooth pre-cast concrete, highlighting the feeling of emptiness or subtraction, as if the volumes were carved out of stone. The classrooms, media library, and dance and music rooms are extremely airy and light, with windows taking up large portions of the walls, connecting the building to life outside.
The façades also create a dualistic effect, with large windowless areas combined with ribbon and full-height windows that lighten the volumes, illuminate the architecture at night, and reflect and capture light during the day.
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Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
Current music scene, Youth and cultural center and library in Rennes, Dominique Coulon & Associés
©Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
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Credits
Location: Chessy, Île-de-France, France
Architect: Dominique Coulon & Associés
Client: City of Rennes
Site area : 3.900 m2
Completion : 2022
Photography by Eugeni Pons, courtesy of Dominique Coulon & Associés
