Graal Architecture's Orly Festival Hall references residential and industrial buildings

This multipurpose events hall designed by French studio Graal Architecture evokes typical gabled houses as well as the industrial sheds found near to its location beside Paris-Orly airport.

Orly Festival Hall is located on the edge of the airport complex to the south of Paris, and forms part of a suburban neighbourhood made up of residential and logistical buildings.

Graal Architecture has created a festival hall in France

Graal Architecture designed the festival hall as a pavilion consisting of four interconnected gabled volumes that resemble typical houses. Its flexible and modular design allows the building to be used for various events.

Corrugated and perforated metal cladding forms a rectilinear envelope around the pitched-roof volumes, lending it a more industrial appearance that recalls the nearby sheds and warehouses.

The building comprises four interconnected gabled volumes

"Halfway between a low-cost prefabricated industrial structure and an ordinary house, the building unfolds in two cubic volumes of the same dimensions, which attempt to move away from the typology of the shed to approach the domestic scale of the house," the architects explained.

The metal cladding extends beyond the height of the pitched roofs, creating a more visible volume within the suburban streetscape that changes in appearance when viewed from different distances and angles.

The volumes are wrapped by corrugated and perforated metal cladding

"Through its champagne colour, its undulations and perforations, the thermo-lacquered, corrugated iron cladding offers a changing and renewed image of the facility through the play of reflections and transparency," Graal Architecture added.

"Depending on the light, the distance and the viewpoint, which is multiple on this angled plot, the building creates a real kinetic effect."

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The building is separated into two conjoined blocks that are shifted slightly in plan to fit the irregularly shaped plot. The space in the offset area forms an entrance plaza sheltered from the noisy airport.

A block of service areas including the entrances, toilets, offices and technical spaces are arranged along the northern edge of the building so they are direct contact with the car park and a small concrete plaza.

It has a champagne-hued colour

Three entrances along the building's length provide access to different parts of the hall, allowing each space to function independently and enhancing the facility's flexibility.

The building was constructed using a timber frame that is visible inside the hall and is complemented by the exposed timber walls and structural roof panels.

The prefabricated framework is visible inside the hall

The prefabricated framework supports a series of deep beams that span the hall from front to back. Tracks incorporated into the beams allow movable walls to be used to partition the interior into two or three rooms.

The four roof ridges help to visually separate the open, flexible space into smaller bays while also aiding its acoustic properties. Each bay features large windows on its southern facade that look out towards the airport.

Skylights slot into the roof's ridge

Lighting and acoustic baffles that follow the folds of the roof help to break up the overall scale of the internal space. Skylights slotted into the roof's ridge cast natural light onto the timber beams and the concrete floor below.

Graal Architecture was founded by Carlo Grispello and Nadine Lebeau. The firm has previously designed an energy-efficient and economical facility for small children that was longlisted in the civic building category of Dezeen Awards 2021, and a sports hall for a nursery in western Paris comprising three corrugated zinc and galvanised steel cabins.

The photography is byClément Guillaume.

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Levitt Bernstein and TKMT cover Neutron Research Centre in perforated metal fins

Perforated metal fins cover the facade of this new visitor centre designed by Levitt Bernstein and TKMT Architects for the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) science facility in Grenoble, France.

Won through an international competition in 2019, the project provides the world-leading neutron facility's campus with a range of new spaces for visiting researchers, as part of a pan-European initiative to provide neutrons to those carrying out molecular experiments.

The Neutron Research Centre is located in France and was designed by Levitt Bernstein and TKMT Architects

London and Manchester-based Levitt Bernstein teamed up with local architects TKMT to develop the design, which combines an exposed concrete structure with a lightweight metal skin.

One side of the building overlooks a car park, while the other connects to the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) campus via covered walkways.

The building has a lightweight metal exterior and concrete interiors

"The new building has a delicate and intricate appearance, underpinned by a solid, muscular structure," described Levitt Bernstein.

"Slender white perforated fins on the exterior modulate daylight and privacy and are arranged in a lenticular pattern inspired by the process of neutron diffraction," it continued.

"The fins alter the appearance of the facade, from morning to evening, during different weather conditions and when viewed from alternative angles."

One side of the site comprises covered white-painted walkways

A need for security in certain areas, combined with a desire for openness in the public spaces, saw the design divided into two public and private zones.

A double-height, glazed foyer space that welcomes visitors is centred around a helical, exposed concrete staircase and a circular cut-out in the first floor.

"The staircase becomes a sculptural object when viewed from the outside and reveals the life and activity within the building as people move through each level day and night," said the practice.

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Interiors throughout have been kept simple and crisp, combining white-painted walls and exposed concrete with elements of exposed wood used in shelving and cupboards to create "moments of warmth and texture".

"With scientists forming the client group, even small changes could have a large impact on how the occupants could use various spaces," the practice continued.

Skylights and clerestory windows provide the interior with light and privacy

This extends to the fittings themselves, with spaces left simple, open and flexible, including moving walls in the events spaces that allow them to be subdivided.

A large, singular skylight along with strips of clerestory glazing continue the strategy of creating open, well-lit spaces while still maintaining a sense of privacy.

The interior boasts a minimal and clean look

Levitt Bernstein is a London and Manchester-based landscape and architecture practice that was founded in 1968.

Other recently completed science facilities include the Edmond and Lily Safra Centre for Brain Sciences in Jerusalem by architecture studio Foster + Partners, which features an exterior of decorative aluminium screens designed to evoke neurons.

Photography is by Benjamin Gremen.

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Matt Fajkus adds perforated steel screens to Austin boathouse

Austin studio Matt Fajkus Architecture has designed a boathouse in the Texas city with perforated metal facades calibrated to balance light and shade throughout the year.

Located on the shore of a ravine in Austin, the Filtered Frame Dock is a two-storey boathouse positioned close to a nearby house built above water level.

Filtered Frame Dock sits on the shore of a ravine

The boathouse has a steel roof arranged in two triangular planes that protect the upper wooden deck from sunlight. The deck is wrapped by glass balustrades and features outdoor lounge chairs.

Filtered Frame Dock gets its name from the perforated stainless steel screens that flank its north and south sides.

Two triangular planes form the boathouse roof

The screens are designed so that the boathouse receives equal amounts of sunlight and shade during the year, with light and shadow perfectly balanced during the equinox.

"An instrument for light and ventilation, the structure is calibrated to provide a comfortable balance of sun, shade, shelter and breezes throughout the year," said Matt Fajkus Architecture.

The upper deck is wrapped by glass balustrades

"As the seasons shift, the dock provides greater shade during the heat of the summer and welcomes more sun during the cooler winter months."

The laser-cut perforations on each screen are also organised based on sightlines, so that visitors can enjoy views of the water from the deck.

Other materials incorporated into the project are hardwood decking and natural stone, which are intended to echo the boathouse's surroundings.

"Sensory experiences are both articulated by and inherent in the relationship between the dock and its natural context," concluded the architecture firm.

A small balcony juts out above the water

Matt Fajkus Architecture has completed a handful of projects in its home city, including a house with a roofline that mimics a mullet and a mid-century home with an extension formed from wood, stucco and glass.

Boathouses are popular in Austin, since many locals like to enjoy the warm climate by spending time on the water. Architecture studio Andersson-Wise has created two on Lake Austin: one that allows users to dive from its upper level, and another assembled from salvaged materials.

The photography is byLeonid Furmansky, Charles Davis Smith and Matt Fajkus Architecture.

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