urbanmakers

undulating silhouette I126
I126 is a co-working space and office project which faces the central station of Tours, magnificent testimony of the great railway halls of the nineteenth century then located in the heart of the cities. I126 is particularly visible and will be one of the first images of the city that the travelers arriving by the train will have.

On the edge of the railway tracks, the recent arrival of the tramway completely changed the urban logic of the district: once turning its back on an exclusively railway landscape, the site now opens onto a vast square and can thus take part in the new public spaces scenography. Taking advantage of this changing environment, the SNCF hopes to express the projection of the Group’s future activities through the I126 image.

The architecture of the building finds its strong identity in the undulating shape of its roof. On this particularly difficult and unusually linear site (5.75m * 83m) this shape is the result of a cross-working between the optimization of the floor surfaces and the maintenance of a succession of fireman accesses on the floors of the residence which overhangs the project. The roof is made of copper and its under-eave is made of wood: these choices echo the tradition of large railway buildings. Reflecting in daylight, the façade captures, thanks to a play of reflections, the animation of the station, the movement of trains and the Loire changing skies. By contrast, the interiors reveal themselves in the evening and become a source of animation in the public space.

program office buildings client SNCF area 1 100 m² SP cost 1.5 M € work full service phase winning project - aborted procedure developement BIM