Contemporary terracotta offices

Topos architecture

Laying the foundation stone. Rarely has this expression taken on so much meaning as in this office project, designed by the Topos architecture practice in Saint-Herblain. At the time when the architects were designing the building, the Zénith district on the outskirts of Nantes was undergoing complete redevelopment. And those 12,000 m2 needed not to fit into their environment but, on the contrary, to identify it, create it and establish its roots.

For Jean-François Mauras, associate architect at Topos Architecture : “The immediately overriding question concerned the material. We wanted quite a dark colour, reminiscent of the docks, a strong image in the collective imagination, and architecture offering proven durability. It was this durability, a hundred or a hundred-and-fifty years down the line, that led us to choose terracotta, as it improves with age. We use terracotta regularly as it conveys the value of work to the buildings it adorns: through its very matter, its uneven patches and imperfections. Brick tells a story, the story of how it was laid, fired, moulded, and so on. Once it is laid, visitors can feel the human touch and toil that has gone into the construction of the building that is right before their eyes. So, we wanted to leave a kind of imprint of the story of the construction. Terracotta brings soul to this brand-new building, which is all the more important given it’s about founding an evolving neighbourhood. I also think that working with sustainable materials is a form of honesty. I need my job to have meaning and make sense, so not building disposable things is an absolute necessity.”

Offices Naonys, saint-herblain, FR -Topos architecture - Hand-moulded brick slips from TERREAL range