Media library

Generally speaking, what is your interest in terracotta? What do you think are its qualities?

We really enjoy working with natural materials that give meaning to buildings and support architecture. Terracotta is also about know-how, precise gestures and strength, which we wanted to showcase. The quality of the workmanship and the durability of the materials, pigments and coloring lend a timeless elegance, as if the building had always been there. And then there's the scent of terracotta, which triggers stories and a more intimate relationship with the material. We're not just looking at the building. This speckled finish makes you want to touch and caress it. Another relationship is created, like the premise of the books that await us inside.

Why choose Rairies Montrieux for the Médiathèque project?

This is of course because you produce close to the Médiathèque, but also because of your know-how and flexibility, enabling you to produce unique pieces. For us, a short circuit and local know-how are a real godsend.

Where did you find the inspiration for this choice of multi-coloured enamelled cladding?

The project was born from the reflection of the shadows of the branches, the leaves of the plane trees and the changing colors of the seasons. Multiplying the shades triggers a desire to meet new people, to travel, and reveals what can be discovered inside the media library. It's the contrast between the roughness of the terracotta and the smoothness of the metal that creates the rustle of the Médiathèque, both inside and out. Given its location, it was also necessary to work on a building that could be viewed on foot, by car or by bike, and that would change its appearance, look and shape according to speed. In this way, it becomes even more alive and natural, like the trees that surround it.

What did you hope to express with this highly original choice of façade? Did you encounter any particular difficulties?

Your expertise, advice and visit to the company really helped us. Just like the pleasure you've given us in working with clay and combining it with another, smoother, more monotonous material. What a media library is all about is offering the chance to gather knowledge according to our desires and encounters, and to immerse ourselves in stories where anything is possible. Looking at this building, there's a kind of earthy softness that wouldn't have been possible with any other material.