The design of the gymnasium and esplanade of central Chelles was an opportunity to use architecture to address urban issues that have been left aside in previous developments. The plot is located centrally between Park of Remembrance Emile Fouchard, the town hall, the Weczerka high school, and the centre for contemporary art “Les Églises”: a heterogeneous backdrop where the symbols of the city are concentrated.
These pieces seemed juxtaposed rather than ordered. The space was in need of a strategic volumetric insertion, an idea being, contributing to the completion of the history and a new vision of the whole. Based on this observation, The design of the gymnasium and the large adjacent square becomes a connective tissue which contributes to form a new aesthetic equilibrium.

The monographic volume is available in a bilingual Italian/English version and in a French/English one, and features a complete description of the work through photographs and drawings, along with technical summaries and explanatory texts, to assure an accurate reading of the project. The description of the project is introduced by a critic essay by Manuel Orazi. A section with biographic and bibliographic information, along with a brief summary of the works, provides an overview of the research and design activities conducted by the firm.

LAN (Local Architecture Network) was created by Benoit Jallon and Umberto Napolitano in 2002, with the idea of exploring architecture as an area of activity at the intersection of several disciplines. This attitude has developed into a methodology enabling LAN to explore new territories and forge a vision encompassing social, urban, functional and formal questions. LAN’s projects seek to find elegant, contemporary answers to creative and pragmatic concerns.