The architecture of the Blagnac Conservatory reorganizes the urban context

The Blagnac Conservatory, inspired by the cello and the synthesizer, the high specificity of the former instrument and the plasticity of the latter, is a contemporary architecture that aims to reorganize the public space of the neighborhood in which it is located

Reorganizing public spaces through the permeability of architecture

The conservatory site has excellent features such as immediate proximity to a large park of landscape interest and clear visibility, along with good connections to the context. However, according to the designers at ppa architectures, it lacks a "frame," optimal in this type of architectural projects. Therefore, they propose an open and walkable structure for the Blagnac Conservatory, which reorganizes the context through its permeability

Open volumetric composition in the neighborhood

Along Boulevard Alain Savary, a first two-story volume developed on the horizontal plane houses the large covered entrance. This overlooks the square and is positioned at the intersection of the two east-west and north-south axes that identify the flows crossing the site. Perpendicular to the first volume, a second block faces the gardens to the northeast. This L-shaped layout frames a large garden open to the neighborhood

The layout of the conservatory: merging music and dance

On the ground floor is the section dedicated to dance, overlooking the gardens to the north, while the music classrooms are positioned on the upper floor in a fluid, expandable, and flexible manner. A large central double-height volume is dedicated to the public area, crossed by people from the neighborhood and students. Here, a flexibly functional grandstand provides access to the first floor. The ever-changing heart of the building is its auditorium, capable of hosting both music and dance thanks to the double retractable backdrop

The inner and outer skin of a new and stimulating space

The functional organization of the project is simple and rigorous, as is its structure, visible in the materiality of the building. The "skin," both internal and external, instead reflects the variability and lightness of the arts: inside we find folds of untreated wooden acoustic panels alternating with technical surfaces, absorbent and anti-reverberation, which cover the rooms and the auditorium. On the outside, the same folds are translated onto the facades in the form of perforated metal mesh, interrupted by slats that open outward creating solar filters

Gallery

Photo credits
Top image, content and gallery images: Sylvain Mille

Designers credits
JP Lamoureux (acoustics)
Execo (quantity surveyor)
Soconer (MEP)
Terrell (structure)
Techni-Cité Urbaine (groundworks)
Keyros (coordination)

Companies credits
Eiffage TP (earthworks)
GCC (main structure)
CDS (roofing)
SMAP (external joinery)
Massoutier (plasterwork / suspended ceilings)
GBA (internal joinery / timber panelling / furnishing / metalwork / facades)
Eole (mobile walls)
Hugon (seating risers)
Lacaze (tiled floors)
Soremat (sports flooring)
CermSols (rubber flooring)
ETR (painting)
Quercy Confort (HVAC / plumbing / BMS)
Bouygues Energie (electricity)
Schindler (elevators)
Caussat (green spaces)

PEOPLE

ppa architectures

20-22 Rue du Faubourg Bonnefoy, 31500 Toulouse, France