Amiens , France

City Apartment, Ellipse Tower

If Perret tower is the citywide landmark of Amiens and the general landscape, the Ellipse tower was conceived as an urban beacon. With its eleven floors, it stands at the lowest point of the boulevard d'Alsace Lorraine near the Somme and in the heart of the ZAC Gare Valley. Its height and shape makes it stand out in its environment. Its façade is decked out in Terreal glazed cladding with very neutral contemporary colours hanging in an alignment with the brick of workers’ houses.

Year of delivery

2014
Location

Amiens France
Architect / signatory

SCAU Architecture
Project owner

Vinci Immobilier
Installation company

Mauger père et fils
Photograph

Olivier Brunet

Product name

Maestral (special product)
Product form

Standard
Epidermis texture

Through body colour
Surface appearance

Glazed
Color

White, Light Grey & Black Matt Enamelled
Work

New

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Titre d'article

Kinetic architecture in verticality for a neutral and design terracotta façade

In the plan the route of the façade along the boulevard is convex. It’s an elliptical section. While at the back of the alley, it draws a concave curve. The will of the architects was to create a building the perception of which constantly changes when moving a kinetic architecture. To this end they have chosen for the cladding a very current colour range of matt glazes proposed by Terreal. The building is anchored at ground level by the dominant darkness of the lower levels glazed in black, and then lightening to a light grey. The tone becomes lighter as you ascend, ending with a white glaze that compliments the Picardie sky.
The vertical lines of Terreal’s Maestral shingle run along the entire body length. The windows are slightly protruding frames of lacquered steel. They are equipped with canvas awnings that provide effective sun protection and with their green colour they are an animating factor of the façade.
Terreal received technical advice for this project in relation to the V-Clip system in order to meet the specific demands of the architects and install cladding vertically along a curved wall.
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The word of

SCAU Architecture, Architect

Interview

Maxime Barbier, project architect explains:
"By choosing Maestral shingle, we make a nod to the brick. We offer a contemporary reinterpretation of the terracotta that is so present in Amiens. We were looking for a thin product, narrow and long, which contributes to the verticality of the building and the curved façades. Even with a very tight budget, our aim is always to create a living architecture. We got that result here thanks to the constant variations from the awnings, whether they’re lowered or not, and the changing effects of glazed terracotta cladding in the light.