BIG . FREAKS freearchitects

Maison de l'Economie Créative et de la Culture en Aquitaine . Bordeaux

BIG . FREAKS

We propose to merge the FRAC, the ECLA and the OARA into a single institution - the Maison de l'Economie Créative et de la Culture en Aquitaine - the MECA.

A building integrated in the waterfront promenade of Bordeaux that will allow public life to flow through the MECA rather than merely surrounding it.
The three institutions and their shared facilities are gathered around a public space framing a fifth program - an outdoor urban room - open towards both Bordeaux and the Garonne - as well as the OARA, ECLA and FRAC - left, right, above and below. The urban room will frame the everyday life of Bordeaux flowing through its generous frame along the promenade or to and from the river and on special occasions it will turn in to an urban stage, or an outdoor gallery to extend the art into the city as well as the city into the architecture.
The framework and promenade is clad in the stone that constitute the material of most of Bordeaux's architecture. As if carved from the same material as the city itself, the stone is both promenade and façade, stair and terrace, roof and ceiling.
The urban room is at once a frame for the artwork, a stage for the performances, a screening room for the media collections and most perhaps most importantly an open room for the urban life of Bordeaux to invade and engage with the arts.

partner in charge: Bjarke Ingels, Andreas Klok Pedersen
project leader: Gabrielle Nadeau
project architect: Jan Magasanik
team: Édouard Champelle, Lorenzo Boddi, Yang Du, Karol Borkowski
collaborators: FREAKS freearchitects, dUCKS scéno, Khephren Ingénierie, VPEAS, ALTO Ingénierie, Vincent Hedo nt, PBNL, Mryk & Moriceau, Ph.A