ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS
MEYLAN
FRANCE, 2017
WORK PLACE
PR–575
A metal vessel at the foot of the mountains, whose rectangular windows offer a wall of reverberation to the landscape. This is the headquarters of Roche Diagnostics, a professional laboratory and imaging company of the same name.
PROGRAM
On a plot of land backing onto the mountains, a double-L-shaped building, constructed to house laboratories, workshops, conference rooms, meeting rooms, and services, complements a small, refurbished office building, originally built in the mid-1970s.
Situation
2, avenue du Vercors, 38240 Meylan, France
Year
2017
Status
Consultation, winning team
Site area
18 623 m²
Built-up area
11 000 m²
Project management
Roche Diagnostics, Meylan
Project implementation
Dominique Perrault Architecte
Local architect
Jean-Pierre Baron (Amplitude architectes)
Design offices
RPO, Bollinger+Grohmann, EPPAG, Barbanel, Jean-Paul Lamoureux, Denis Thélot
Interior designer and furniture layout
Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost
DESCRIPTION
From the outdoor courtyard, the glass windows reveal a metal bolero. The staircases, mesh panels, and industrial lighting fixtures form the three movements of the dance. The first, wide, proud, and sculptural, cross the lobby. Placed in this way, they invite everyone to use them and return to their original purpose as a meeting place, a spot for unexpected encounters, and an observation post—after each rehearsal, the bolero dancer pauses and observes.
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Since elevators replaced staircases, the latter have tended to become a last resort. Here, they are once again the centerpiece of the design. Woven metal mesh panels provide privacy and divide spaces without enclosing them. From the corridors, the eye makes its way through the holes in the mesh and never loses sight of the stairs, the façade, or even, further away, the expanse of lawn. The industrial light fixtures, supported by slender, graceful metal legs that cascade from a rounded panel, lighten the structure and right angles. The trees in the garden, invited inside by their reflection on the frame, contribute to the same effect and challenge the geometry of the metal. The rugged topography of the Isère region is reflected here and there in the laboratory image.
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