APLIX
FACTORY
LE CELLIER-SUR-LOIRE
FRANCE, 1997-1998
INDUSTRIAL
PR–139
The Aplix factory is distinguished by a dialectical interplay between the effect of appearance and disappearance.
GALLERY
020
PROGRAM
Construction of a woven hook and loop fastener factory comprising production and heat-sealing workshops, storage areas, laboratories, administrative and social facilities, a cafeteria, a restaurant, a shipping and delivery dock (11 bays), and a technical module for the production of electricity, heat, and compressed air. The site’s landscaping is an integral part of the architecture.
The factory expansion in 2020 increased the total surface area from 30,000 to 48,800 m². This new complex houses industrial spaces, a research and development center, and various facilities dedicated to employee well-being: a restaurant, a gym, a rest area, a training space, and an auditorium.
DETAIL
Situation
Les Relandières Business Park, Le Cellier-sur-Loire, France
Year
1997–1998 / 2016–2020
Status
International consultation, winning team
Built surface
30 000 m² + 18 8000m² (extension)
Client
Aplix SA, Paris
Architect
Dominique Perrault Architecte
Engineering office
Boplan Ingénierie
Interior designer and design
Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost
DESCRIPTION
Located on a vast, flat plot of land along the RN23 highway, between Nantes and Angers, its façade takes the form of a mirror stretched over three hundred meters. Made of polished stainless steel panels, it blends seamlessly into the green of the lawns and the blue of the sky. The factory seems to come alive, its reflections transforming and multiplying with the changing weather, the movement of the clouds, and the sun’s rotation.
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Adding 17,000 square meters of floor space, the Aplix factory extension adopts the same architectural principles as the original project. This design is structured around a 20-meter by 20-meter square grid, some of whose hollowed-out cells are transformed into tree-planted patios. This modular system opened the door to countless possibilities for expansion: a new façade of mirror-polished stainless steel blades, enveloping the existing structure, plays, as in the original design, on the effects of appearance and disappearance.
Stretching over 600 meters, it is perceived as a work of land art within the landscape. Inside, a central street, illuminated by the gardens, runs the entire length of the building. The façade’s opacity keeps the industrial manufacturing secrets and the research and development activities of the Aplix factory confidential, while simultaneously allowing light into the heart of the building and the surrounding site.
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