| National Rugby Training Centre |
(Marcoussis, France) |
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The quality of the Bellejame Park site defined the proposal for the centre and its surrounding landscape. The plain to the North, the gently inclined slopes to the South, the valley filled with trees, the row of lime trees accentuating the perspective towards the MontlhÈry tower, the ruins of a small castle and the pond supplied by the river Salmouille are distinct elements within the landscape. It therefore seemed essential both to respect the location and the geography of the site while highlighting existing features.
The principal intention behind the scheme consisted in creating the atmosphere of a residence, a calm place, protected yet open to its woodland environment, with a contemporary architecture using traditional workmanship and materials.
The playing fields (4 rugby grounds) are situated in the plain. As they necessitate important excavation works and so as to limit their impact on the site, two of the grounds were orientated East-West rather than the preferential North-South.
The “Residence”, the main accommodation building, is situated on the castle’s former location. The Training Centre’s other programmatic elements are set out as several interconnecting buildings to the north of the wood constituting a small scale entity, the so called “Little Train”.
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