Dominique Coulon et associés

regional court . Montmorency

Dominique Coulon et associés . photos: Patrick Miara . David Romero-Uzeda . © Dominique Coulon

The theme of the project is accessible justice. This is an unostentatious public building within the urban fabric. We opted for modest, elegant exterior architecture, preferring a facing in brick, a timeless material which becomes more attractive with age. This choice also enables the building to blend in with its immediate surroundings. The treatment of the entrance, worked as a lateral hollow on the main façade, constitutes a break with the traditional symmetrical composition of court buildings. From the outside, this entrance – on a single level – is on a modest scale.

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Patrick Miara

Once inside the building, however, the public lobby is three storeys high, with a high-placed opening capturing light from the south. There is a feeling of solemnity. A second monumental empty space contains a magnificent garden – an internal lung for the building. Given its scale, this space has the great advantage of providing a view and natural light to the two courtrooms and to the public lobby. A beautiful oak tree (Quercus robur) symbolising justice is planted in the soil. The ground and vertical walls are covered with ivy, adding the finishing touch to the soothing atmosphere of the place. Our intention is to provide a calm, soothing atmosphere to counteract the tension that so often exists in such places.
The project offers surprising spatial sequences, a progressive architectural promenade from the sober but bright forecourt to the public lobby, where emotions run strong. The diversity of the materials used personalises and reflects the different aspects of the judiciary’s work. The richness of the volumes, both sober and sculptural, shapes this interior space with an idealised, private urbanity, lending the whole the character of a small-scale yet very real judicial centre.

Regional Court and Industrial Tribunal at Montmorency,
nothern suburbs of Paris (France)

CLIENT :
Ministère de la Justice
Agence Publique pour l’Immobilier de la Justice
ARCHITECT :
Dominique Coulon et associés, Architectes
ENGINEERS AND CONSULTANTS :
Structural Engineer : Batiserf Ingénierie
Mechanical Electrical Plumbing Engineer : BET G. Jost
Cost Estimator : E3 Economie
Landscape : Bruno Kubler
Acoustics : Euro Sound Project
PROGRAM :
2 Courtrooms (100 and 80 sqm) on the ground floor
Offices for the regional court (1st level) and for the Industrial Tribunal (2nd floor)
Common spaces : archives, library, coffee room, main hall, technical installations
ADDRESS :
137-143, avenue Charles de Gaulle 95 160 MONTMORENCY
GPS : N 48 58.404, E 2 18.645
SURFACE :
2110 m2
COSTS :
4 367 100 euros
DATES :
Schematic design : 2007
Completion date : 2013
CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES :
General contractor SNRB
Subcontractors : AP ingénieries (structure), Dacquin (deep foundations), Acieco (water-proofing), Vollmer (exterior joinery), Antunes (external insulation), Ponelle (metal works), Byn (masonry), Luso plaque et plâtre (plastering works), Botemo (interior wood work), Sopimep (wood furnishings), Recam (tiled and screed floors), Boulenger (resin floor), Thyssen (elevator), GSE (electricity), Tempere (heating and ventilation)
PHOTOGRAPHERS :
Patrick Miara, David Romero-Uzeda