Foreign Office wins Toulouse aerodrome scheme
- Published: 25 January 2008 10:51
- Author: Richard Vaughan
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- Last Updated: 25 January 2008 12:18
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Foreign Office Architects has won a competition to transform the former Montaudran Aerodrome in Toulouse into the 600 million euro (£445 million) centrepiece of France's Aerospace Valley.
The London-based practice saw off the likes of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, OMA and Xavier de Geyter to design nearly 200,00m2 of office, research, retail and leisure space on the 40ha site.
The French Aerospace Research Institute will be located in a 28-storey tower that will 'act as a beacon to the valley'.
The practice has also proposed to retain the former runway as a historical trace of the origins of the aerospace industry in Toulouse.
Using the presence of a very high water table in the site, the former runway will be replaced by a water surface to contribute to the microclimate of the complex through adiabatic cooling.
