Description

The forestry institute located in the heart of the Ardennes Mountains deals with the processing of raw forestry materials from the forests of the Walloon region. It accommodates a number of workshops, some offices and laboratories as well as storage areas. Due to the irregular polygonal shape of the site, and since it comprises 200-year-old oak trees, the architect designed a free-formed building both in plan and volume. The use of timber for the structure was only natural for a forestry institute.

The concept of using pre-stressed arches to create a building has existed for centuries. For the forestry institute, the exterior shell covering the building consists of a structure of restrained laminated timber arches clad with coated reflective glass panels. The building structure was erected using fresh timber as it lends itself better to constant bending and accepting bending stress. The primary structure consists of numerous two-layered arches composed of rectangular timber profiles ranging in length between 6.14 m and 6.21 m. In plan, the center lines of the arches meet in one point and appear twisted in section. The structure is reinforced longitudinally by six arched twin girders running parallel to the length of the hall. Into this building fabric of timber and glass, two massive volumes are inserted along both longitudinal façades which accommodate storage, administration offices and laboratories. Additionally, they serve as supports for the twin arches of the exterior load-bearing structure. The main space of the ellipsoid floor plan, between the wings with secondary rooms, is designed as the actual working space with large machinery for drying and processing of the forestry materials.

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Originally published in: Jürgen Adam, Katharina Hausmann, Frank Jüttner, Industrial Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2004.