An opportunity to test pre-assembly and pre-fabrication quality solely by telecommunications.
This project was designed and engineered in our London office, understood and interpreted in Epinal (Vosges), checked in London - by fax. Site assembly began on 19 June 1989 and the Pharmacy opened 3 weeks later on 8 July at Boves near Amiens in northern France.
There was one site survey visit, one visit at the time of the ‘convoi exceptionel’ delivery and two site inspections after occupation. The final account was completed on 8 October 1989.
The concept of the pharmacy is based on 2 unusual criteria :
and the client’s requirement to incorporate accommodation for an on - duty overnight pharmacist.
The challenge to the chemist was to accept the ‘village’ location, as against the “High Street” and in this recognition to believe in the public service he was providing, in particular to the old and mothers and children. The architecture thus stepped back from the road edge and the shop opened up as a generous and welcoming volume, with its reception service table, including magazines and toys as the antithesis of the hard sell - a softer more social approach and one concerned with service.
The side walls are wrapped in woven stainless steel (the first such application on a building). This use of mesh began the exploration into other uses, such as gabion.
The form of the building is a direct response to maximising space and minimising cost on a site liable to flooding.