Remembering old construction techniques in concrete

It takes a certain amount of intuitive flair to combine a modern form of construction with another, older form, the use of which was rapidly receding in people's memories, to create an example of discerning architecture. The aesthetic outcome of such a process is what architect François Fontes created with the Lycée Marc Bloch in Sérignan. He was responsible for the design of a complex that has provided for the education and leisure needs of a great many children since it opened in autumn 2013.

The facade surface of the buildings is for the most part fair-faced concrete that reproduces a relief pattern of bundled reeds in its textured finish. In choosing this design, the architect is referring back to 700-year-old construction technique used in the Camargue. It is based on the use of reeds as an organic construction material and earlier formed a source of income for women. Their task was to go down into the marsh and harvest the reeds. After they cut the reeds with a long-handled scythe, they carried them to dry land by boat, where they were bundled and tied together with twine or wire. The organic material was used as a roof covering, for insulation and even for making walls. The construction elements it was used for usually showed a typical relief. It was this typical relief that François Fontes picked up and gave new life to in the exposed concrete facade of the complex. He chose NOEplast textured formliners from NOE to achieve this unusual design in the surface of his concrete.