Clinique Ste-Claire
Location. The intervention focuses on the part hitherto considered as the rear of the edifice and takes into account the unobstructed view and openness onto the Crans-Montana plateau that this orientation offers. This new outlook on the site reveals this previously little-used quality while preserving the transparency along the east-west axis of the existing main park, whose charm and landscape qualities are well established.
Programme. The programme is organised into three identical units of 21 rooms, largely distributed within the existing volume in order to minimise the impact of the extension. The setting of the annexed volume allows the creation of a central circulation ring which, by dilating, gives way to the lounge and shared-activity zones. On the ground floor are the public functions of the programme, articulated around two activity poles: the cafeteria and the dining room, each enjoying a privileged relationship with, on the one hand, the existing park and, on the other, the vineyards. The distribution of these two entities around the same entrance and circulation apparatus creates a transversal relationship between the park and the vineyards by way of a more intimate, set-back courtyard.
Architectural expression. Sensitive to the heritage value of the work, the project opts for a neutral materiality in mineral render, respecting the tones and in continuity with the horizontal, pared-down façades of the clinic. In this way the treatment combines with the old and gives added value to its legacy by opening new perspectives.
Energy concept. Sustainability is an integral part of the project: the compactness of the added volume is optimised by making the most of the potential of the existing building's surfaces, allowing a saving of land and energy consumption. This efficiency of the volume, the thermal quality of the building envelope, the inertia of the materials used, the recourse to a high-performance heat-production system and a controlled air renewal make it possible to minimise thermal losses and thus the building's energy needs. In summer, a textile-blind solar protection and a natural ventilation of the rooms through openable glazing limit solar radiation and the overheating of the building.
Structure. The load-bearing structure of the annexed volume consists of solid reinforced-concrete walls and slabs. The seismic concept relies on using the new load-bearing walls (reinforced concrete and masonry) as seismic shear walls, while preserving as many existing shear walls as possible (masonry and concrete). The advantage of the proposed project lies in the alignment of all the new load-bearing walls. Thus each element can be used to stabilise both the new annex and the existing building. By choosing to place the new wing close to the centre of mass of the existing building, the addition of these shear walls creates only little eccentricity and, by means of appropriate connections with the existing slabs, makes it possible to improve the stability of the whole and increase its compliance factor.
Atmosphere. The neutrality of the materials used and the many built-in storage spaces allow residents to appropriate the spaces provided and furnish them as they wish. A transparency and fluidity between the interior of the rooms and the outside through the balcony are created by the use of a unified wooden floor finish that gives them a warm atmosphere. Natural light is diffused into the bathrooms through the installation of translucent glass doors themselves oriented outwards to ensure the required privacy when passing them. The recess in the plan that results from inserting the bathrooms into the rooms allows the integration of a niche that can house a study/reading corner, giving the rooms an impression of generosity and ambivalence.