TRIBORD Sailing Lab, LA ROCHELLE (17)

Delivered in July 2021, the new TRIBORD Sailing Lab in La Rochelle (17) is a venue dedicated to designing Tribord products and hosting events centered around sports. The new site, which celebrates the nautical world, also features open access for members of the public passionate about the sea. The 3,000 m² building was equipped with 18 sunshade modules made of airfoil-shaped fixed louvers secured between aluminium flat bars, designed to block solar radiation while bringing an architectural signature to the building. As part of this construction project, ESSOR Ingénierie (49) and the PVA Architecture firm (49) decided to address the solar shading of the glazed surfaces with horizontal architectural aluminum sunshades canopy-mounted against the facades.

Leveraging its expertise in summer comfort, the French manufacturer TELLIER BRISE-SOLEIL, specializing in solar shading for buildings (residential, commercial, public, etc.), engineered a technical and aesthetic solution perfectly tailored to the specific requirements of this project. The fix-louvered sunshades from the AZUR range thus help provide a passive shading solution to the TRIBORD Sailing Lab, which is BREEAM certified (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), like all new buildings from the DECATHLON group, the client for the project.

ENSURING THERMAL AND VISUAL COMFORT INSIDE THE BUILDING

After 25 years of existence, TRIBORD, a DECATHLON group brand, chose to establish itself in the heart of the largest marina on the Atlantic coast, the Port des Minimes in LA ROCHELLE (17). A true place of inspiration, testing, and sharing, the TRIBORD Sailing Lab is a co-design center spanning 3,000 m² over 2 floors dedicated to R&D. This new concept dedicated to water sports opened its doors on July 2, 2021, to welcome 40 employees: engineers, designers, pattern makers, prototypers, etc.

To improve occupants' workspace comfort, the TRIBORD Sailing Lab benefits from perfect solar shading thanks to TELLIER BRISE-SOLEIL's AZUR architectural sunshades. Applied in a horizontal canopy installation against the facades, this tailor-made solution backed by the manufacturer's expertise ensures thermal comfort for occupants by blocking solar radiation and visual comfort by reducing glare while preserving external visibility.

Based on solar path principles, the sunshades protect the facades in summer when the sun is high in the sky. Conversely, when the sun is low on the horizon during winter, they allow rays to enter the building to take advantage of solar heat gain. This solar shading solution preserves the balance between luminosity and shading.

A "READY-TO-INSTALL" SYSTEM

Ahead of the project, TELLIER BRISE-SOLEIL's engineering office studied the sizing (projection, louver pitch, etc.) and layout of the sunshades on the various facades by producing structural calculations to guarantee their long-term structural integrity and fabrication drawings validating the project compliance. The TRIBORD Sailing Lab sunshades consist of 9 extruded aluminum airfoil-shaped profiles (ref. AS200x36) held by stainless steel screws between aluminum flat bars. The 198 louvers and 36 flat bars were fully cut and machined in TELLIER BRISE-SOLEIL's workshops in CHEMILLÉ-EN-ANJOU (49).

Finally, to facilitate installation, two-thirds of the 18 modules were delivered pre-assembled to the job site. Furthermore, the module identification system and the simplicity of mounting the sunshades onto the supporting metal framework allowed the teams from Miroiterie Mélusine (86) to save considerable installation time on-site. In just 2 weeks, the 565 linear meters of AZUR sunshade louvers were installed on the building.

Bringing an architectural signature

As major architectural elements, the AZUR airfoil-shaped sunshade louvers bring a modern signature to the facades of the new TRIBORD Sailing Lab co-design center.

The finishing of the aluminum louvers using a wood-effect sublimation finish process like "light oak", Qualideco-certified, provides a warm look to the sunshades. This color contrast with the rest of the building highlights and reinforces their presence on the facades.