AURILLAC

SCALES — L/S – Urban / Architectural LOCATION — City centre POPULATION — City 26,572 inhab. STRATEGIC SITE — 50 ha PROJECT SITE — 7.3 ha SITE PROPOSED BY — City of Aurillac in partnership with SEBA15 (Semi-public development company for the Aurillac Basin), Cantal UDAP (public architecture and heritage office for Cantal) and Caisse des Dépôts (public management office) OWNER OF THE SITE — Community of Aurillac and ENGIE (plot AN 240) and the old offices of the public veternary services DSV (Cantal County Council) POST-COMPETITION PHASE — Urban and/or architectural feasibility studies and/or project development to initiate with partners

Pierre Mathonier — Mayor of Aurillac

1. WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE SITE MUTATION? The site, which is composed of a parking lot and former industrial lands, is separated from the old city centre by the Jordanne River and is not connected to it. The issue is to renew this area through different economic, cultural and touristic uses.

2. HOW CAN THE SITE BE INTEGRATED IN THE ISSUES OF PRODUCTIVE CITIES? HOW DO YOU CONSIDER THE PRODUCTIVITY ISSUE? In an attempt to re-qualify this site and to redefine its links with the historical centre, Aurillac Municipality would like to propose new production activities, especially food, energy as well as cultural production. The idea is to create a direct interaction between the citizens and their environment — an environment thought to be productive. The theme of productivity must be understood in its wide definition. Not a single way of thinking must be ruled out since it is likely to connect citizens to “housing” and “productivity”. As a result, there are various fields to explore such as reconquering the housing, developing commercial or economic activities or even assuring the development of cultural and touristic sectors.

3. HAVE YOU ALREADY DEFINED A SPECIFIC PROCESS FOR THE URBAN AND/OR ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SITE AFTER EUROPAN? 32 teams of young architects gathered and worked on the site of Aurillac demonstrating the appeal of this site. After deeper looks at the various propositions, great planning principles have been set up: the site “multi-functional” legitimacy and the “possible mutations of uses and functions”. The Europan competition of ideas must be used as an inspiration to write another chapter of Aurillac’s history.

The Great Park

AUTHOR(S) — Simon Gabillard (FR), Héloïse Bouju (FR), Landscape architects; Mercè Pagès (CAT), Architect CONTRIBUTOR(S) — Manon Bouju (FR), Manuel Hennin (FR),

AURILLAC (FR) — WINNER

Economic analysts; Louise Bassigny (FR), Interior architect; Clément Berthollet (FR), Landscape architect CONTACT — T. +33 642947243, simongabillard@gmail.com

TEAM POINT OF VIEW — Jordanne River Gets Down Town. Our project considers the site as a mediator between the historical city centre and the countryside open lands: the Great Park is a landscape equipment, an extensive public space with multiple uses, including car parks, energy production and activities. Its 1.5km promenade brings large-scale perspectives in Aurillac’s heart. The project relies on the landscape structure drawn by the Jordanne and Visitation, the Engie buildings and the infrastructure inherited from the all-car system: broad, levelled and easily transformable. The aim is to turn mono-functionality into hybridity, by creating spaces that are flexible, generous, mixed, which generate frictions and encounters. Then the Great Park acts as an interface between productive activities as well as a place for emerging productions.

JURY POINT OF VIEW — A balanced proposal, with an appropriate position on both the site and the larger landscape in relation to the size and configuration of the city. The site proposals are on the theme of productive cities and deal with different forms of production (agricultural, energy, economic and social).

Panoplie

AUTHOR(S) — Maxime Lefranc (FR), Bertrand Robuchon (FR), Vivien Gimenez (FR), Architects

AURILLAC (FR) — RUNNER-UP

CONTACT — ACLAA, Paris (FR) T. +33 172380613, agence@aclaa.fr www.aclaa.fr, www.viviengimenezarchitecture.com

TEAM POINT OF VIEW — Our project proposes to reconcile and revitalize the historic public space uniting the two banks of the Jordanne river. We suggest building a “silo car park”, south of Gravier, to free the public space of cars. It will become an iconic facility, and provide a multitude of urban services through an inhabited ‘epidermis’: vertical garden, platform of activities, multifunctional stage. On Engie site, the strategy will be based on the expectations of future users. The challenge is to define together a program, based on the exchange between professionals, schools and local actors, to imagine a shared city, based on local and direct production. This co-constructed project offers a Panoply, a toolbox for the new “rurban” citizen motivated by the desire to be active.

JURY POINT OF VIEW — A complete and detailed proposal for an evolving project that allows a variety of uses and activities by proposing an architectural solution to handle the organisation. The proposal is clear, particularly the principle of reversibility and parking-lot adaptability, which is a central topic for the Aurillac site.

AUTHOR(S) — Florence Carrières (FR), Architect-urbanist; Perrine Vouillon (FR), Sabine Bachelet (FR), Nelly Revol-Buisson (FR), Architects; Guillaume Blaise (FR), Building engineer CONTACT — Paris (FR) T. +33 695364346 savoirterre.e14@gmail.com

TEAM POINT OF VIEW — The project uses the landscape as raw material and structure for the future rural territory aiming at highlighting the existing heritage. The river Jordanne is the link of the project, which allows exploring the territory. All along its banks, the limited facilities will become gathering places. From the edges to the city centre, the rural landscape, with its productive nature, returns gradually into the urban landscape. The program combines local, agricultural, energy, economic and social production in order to bring back attractiveness to the heart of the city and an additional offer on the banks of the river. Free from parking lots, the public spaces are dedicated again to pedestrians. These new spaces, which were developed with the participation of the inhabitants, offer a new dynamism to Aurillac.