Promat's new PROMAGLAS® fire-resistant glazing proves its worth at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Troyes and Aube

This industrial hall, with a traditional shed roof, has recently been renovated for the Troyes and Aube Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Built in 1964, this building was previously a former hosiery factory.

“We wanted to preserve the spirit and charm of the place,” announces Bernard Figiel, architect at the Elleni & Figiel firm, who has just reconfigured the site, a square of nearly 65 x 65 meters, in order to create office spaces dedicated to the tertiary sector and to the ERP status.

But the constraints were significant. The original metal truss frame, which supported the roof, had no fire resistance, and adding any additional weight was out of the question. " It was therefore necessary to do without it and fall back on creating an underpinning structure, completely independent of the existing frame."

In the end, Bernard Figiel transformed his constraint into an aesthetic and functional asset.

On the periphery of the hall are the offices: open spaces nearly 15 meters deep, and at the center are vast communal spaces: meeting rooms, conference room. Seven-meter-wide corridors provide attractive perspectives for this fluid and contemporary architectural style.

THE IMPERATIVE OF FIRE SAFETY

To preserve this metal latticework, it was necessary to extract smoke from the original plenum and ensure fire detection covering the entire building and the new construction. It was under this condition that it was possible to overcome the fire resistance of the frame and that an exemption from the fire regulations was granted.

The all-wood, half-hour fire-resistant partition consists of a fir frame incorporating thermal, acoustic, and fire insulation, complemented by OSB bracing. On each side of the partition, exposed poplar cladding has M1-treated surfaces. These partitions are fitted with PROMAGLAS® half-hour fire-resistant glazing units (fire performance certified by European test reports) from the company Promat . Bernard Figiel explains the reasons for this choice: " Because the aim was simultaneously to introduce transparency into the construction, to optimize the intake of natural zenithal light while preserving a degree of privacy for the spaces created."

“The architect recommended glazed partitions, and we weren’t familiar with this new fire-resistant glazing,” recalls Matthieu Mimey, director of Lambert Menuiserie, a century-old company based in the Aube region that oversaw the project. “ We manufactured the 130 fire-resistant wooden frames ourselves, incorporating 150 m² of PROMAGLAS® without any difficulty. Promat ’s technical guidelines were clear and straightforward.”

AESTHETICS: THE BIG WINNER

Preserving the spirit and charm of the place was the basic premise, but Bernard Figiel also wanted to create a contrast with an industrial building whose "exterior appearance he considers somewhat hermetic, with an interior that, from the entrance hall onwards, is much more open, bathed in soft and pleasant light. The challenge was to express ourselves within the presence of a metal frame using a very limited range of materials. The light poplar partitions simply alternate with the PROMAGLAS® glazing . It's a new product that we were fortunate enough to discover at the right time."

The installation of PROMAGLAS® glass partitions at the Troyes and Aube Chamber of Commerce and Industry proves that, in the context of a quality redevelopment, the latest construction and preventive technologies can be perfectly integrated into an existing building while meeting architectural requirements.