projects | Viabizzuno progettiamo la luce

located between roissy and meaux in the department of seine et marne, the building stands on a sloping site with a drop of three metres and a west facing façade, offering a wonderful view over the surrounding hills. the designers took into account the relationship between the architectural massing and the landscape, and between building users and the landscape. this is an office building placed in a natural setting, something to look at and at the same time a viewpoint from which to look at the landscape. this duality sums up the objectives of the design: on one hand the aim of creating a workspace open to the outside and giving life to a project that could benefit from the views, light and colour of the surrounding environment and on the other the need to respect the landscape when placing the newly built 'object' into it. starting from these considerations, the design was conceived as a sort of line following the horizon and the slope of the ground. the functions are separated into two distinct elements, the first devoted to work spaces, the second to a workshop, an exhibition space and storage. this division also corresponds to the different temperature, space, lighting and functional requirements for the two elements. the area of the building used for workrooms sits on the highest part of the site; all the offices are modular, arranged individually or in combination and have a view of the landscape that makes work a pleasure. the internal layout is based on circulation zones (as alternatives to the corridor), which act as meeting or waiting areas; these also enjoy views of the landscape and extend outside onto a covered terrace. the element housing the workshop is a block anchored firmly to the ground. the building consists of a simplified structure using a mixture of steel and concrete components. the most interesting construction details are those that enable the viewer to interpret the building design, like the large windows and the continuity between the black painted concrete façades and the pitched roof, which is treated as a fifth façade and creates the effect of a dark mass more like a shadow than a building. as mentioned above, the project is divided into two elements; the entrance is in the middle and opens onto a large central reception area which links the offices, workshop, meeting room, kitchen, terrace and services area. the offices are fully glazed, providing generous external views; the dimensions exceed standard workspace layouts, offering greater convenience for users. the internal height is 3.5 metres and the areas are 24m² for a single user (compared with a more traditional area of 13.5m²), 30m² for two and 34m² for three people, respectively. a triangular area is used for office circulation; this is a waiting and discussion area featuring a large (4 x 4m) opening, offering a privileged view of the most significant part of the landscape, the church tower. the workshop extends lengthways, the height varying to create a lower element for the maintenance workshop and a higher one for the showroom. this latter area is painted entirely white to allow the eye to focus on the machinery displayed during sales promotions.