Architect 2016-01

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Detail:
Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Vault
text by timothy a. schuler
Necessity is the mother of invention,
and at the new headquarters of the
Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé, in
Paris, complex site constraints gave
rise to a bulbous but elegant building by
Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW).
Completed in 2014, the 23,000-squarefoot,
five-story structure features an
organically shaped glass vault clad in
perforated aluminum panels that drew
immediate comparisons to an armadillo.
The voluminous vault, which houses
a research center, is supported by
parabolic wood arches, with spans
ranging from 10 feet to upward of 50
feet. In cross-section, the longest arches
assume a banana-like shape in midspan
due to a 4-inch increase in depth as
compared to the base.
RPBW chose laminated larch wood for
the 32 arches, for its look and flexibility.
Glulam beams can be cut to any size,
but the difficulty “was the shape and the
aesthetic because obviously we wanted
a perfect wood surface,” says Thorsten
Sahlmann, the firm’s architect in
charge. He flew to the timber contractor
Rubner Holzbau’s fabrication facility in
Bressanone, Italy, and approved each
arch before it was transported to the site.
Fabrication took about three months.
The largest arches were delivered
in two pieces and then joined by
embedded steel plates and bolts. The
arches tie into a steel beam that runs
the building perimeter and is braced by
a double-curved steel superstructure,
which then ties into the concrete shell
encasing the lower floors.
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1. Perforated aluminum panel, 250mm
2. Painted steel tube, Ø 76mm
3. EPDM gutter and membrane
4. Insulation, 20mm thick
5. Vapor barrier
6. Concrete shell
7. Fabricated steel tie, length variable
8. Insulated glazing, double curvature
9. Painted steel tube, Ø 50mm
10. Glulam arch beam, dimensions variable
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michel denancé
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