Sane architecture. By Thibaut LAMAISON & Bilal EL GARCHI

Making room for the new

Making room for the old

We took these photos early October 2015, in downtown Clermont-Ferrand. It had been raining earlier, but when we went out it was both cloudy and sunny. There are no special effects, only natural colours and shades. We chose to keep the original colours on the pictures because we felt they were great and reflected real life, especially for the modern building. We also tried to include nature in the view.

For the first picture (the hospital), we heard a lot of “town” noises, such as cars, car horns, construction works. For the second picture (the chapel), the environment was more convivial (kids playing and people talking).

When we went out for the first photo, it had been raining and there was the smell of the rain, of fresh cut grass; also we were quite cold because of the wind! For the second photo, it was a cloudy day and so it was mild; we smelt a nearby bar with the usual odours (smoke, beer, etc.).

For the first photo, I found the building stylish and modern while my friend Bilal found it ugly. But, for the second photo, opinions were reversed! Bilal was curious and amazed, even fascinated; for my part, I found it uninteresting.

In the end, we decided to take “one photo each” and now I’m thinking that we have made the good choice !

The first picture is of a very recent construction which is part of the Sainte-Marie Psychiatric Hospital. It is an airy building made of glass, very modern, with various green and blue colours. On the left, we can see a clock and in the foreground a garden with grass, flowers, and trees. A man and a woman are walking in the street. We can also imagine a helicopter port on the roof of this building because it is flat.

In the background, we can observe some hills and woods surrounding the town.

We don’t want to be boastful, but we feel the hospital photo is very good because it looks like the picture for an architectural project!

The other picture is of a building next to the Clermont-Ferrand Law Courts. It is a very dark building, made of Volvic stone, a volcanic stone. This church, is not, of course, a recent construction. On the picture, we observe two more elements: on the right side, a tree with its green leaves, which recalls Summer time and nature; but on the left side, a “no way” sign reminds us that we are in a city!

We gave the title Making room for the new to the hospital picture: this colourful glass building brings a lot of contrast to the area where it is located. It is surrounded by small houses which are decades old. The hospital looks like a futuristic element in an old world!

We named the old chapel photo Making room for the old because this monument recalls the history of the neighbourhood, which is now totally surrounded by recent buildings and the Law Courts. Visitors may wonder about this Greek or Roman style temple. We felt it was mysterious and full of history. We choose to keep buildings which have historical interest; they are our common heritage.

The Sainte-Marie Psychiatric Hospital building is composed of offices for administrative services and doctors. It opened in 2012. It was built next to the old hospital which was built around 1850 by a religious community called Sainte-Marie de l’Assomption. The aim was to cure patients affected by mental diseases. A bell from the old hospital has been placed on the roof of the new building. It rings every quarter of an hour.

The old chapel is situated next to the Clermont-Ferrand Law Courts. It was part of the ancient General Hospital, a centre for poor people and beggars. When the hospital was demolished in the 1980s, only the chapel was preserved as an historic monument. Although it looks like a Greek or Roman temple, it was built between 1850-1855 by the architect Imbert in the Neo-Classical style popular at the time for important public buildings. It is now used for temporary art exhibitions.

As far as the Sainte-Marie Hospital photo is concerned, I like the glass architecture a lot because it is open and luminous. I appreciate its colours which bring hope (greens and blues). They are quite unusual colours in the city of Clermont-Ferrand which is mostly made of volcanic stone, grey or black. This building also makes me think of a vessel on the sea.

When I look at the Old Chapel picture I think of Classical civilizations. It looks like a temple, a little like the Mercury Temple at the summit of the Puy de Dôme. Only the no-way board reminds us we are in the 21st century!

I would give as the common title to the two photos Sane architecture because both buildings are well adapted to their functions, and we sensibly allow different architectural styles, from past and present, to co-exist.

The contrast between a modern building, with its glass architecture, and an ancient one is great. We wanted to show the contrast between the different architectural styles within the same area. In this case, the two buildings are only 500 meters apart. This creates a bizarre but brilliant effect in the neighbourhood!

Both pictures evoke the social history of this town district. In fact, the old chapel belonged to the General Hospital which was a place for the poor and sick. The Sainte-Marie Hospital has the same function today, for people with mental problems, in a modern environment.

I feel a positive impression when I look at these two photos together because they mean past and present can co-exist; it is a sign that new generations respect the work done by older generations.

Also, in the two photos we notice vegetation. Cities are now taking better care of the environment, by planting flowers and trees. I think this is great because we feel better among vegetation than when living surrounded by just stone and tarmac. It is a positive feeling for me because it means the town is open to Nature.