Page 20 - MODUS NEWS 01
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PLATANE BERèS
FRAncE
“THANKS TO THE CNC MILLING MACHINE, WE COULD CREATE THE SHAPES
OF THE LARGE, HEAVY STONES SO PRECISELY THAT THEY COULD SIT ON TOP OF EACH OTHER, JUST 5MM APART. WHAT INCREDIBLE PRECISION!”
Platane Berès
Located in Paris, France, Platane Berès sees the world of Architecture in two ways-first as an industrial process, and second as an artisanal process in which every building is
a prototype. He believes that with the first you can structure, build repetition, find economy, and use all that the industry offers; with the second you can merge industry and artisanship.
www.platane-ilic.com
L’ École des Beaux-Arts de Versailles
Vitra is a furniture manufacturer committed to the development of In the town of Versailles, France, much of the architecture stands as it was hundreds of years ago, when Louis XVI surveyed the streets from the windows of his vast château. That all changed recently when Platane Berés and his team
at Platane Architecture won a competition
to transform a building in the heart of this quaint town. Called l’École des Beaux Arts de Versailles or The Versailles School of Fine Arts, this space is located less than 500 meters from The Château of Versailles.
Berés and his team took on the challenge of updating the 300 square meter Sculpture and Painting Department’s façade and opening
it up to the town, while still retaining a historic feel to the building. Since many of the buildings are sheathed in stone, Berés included stone - but used it in an entirely different way, putting his indelible mark
on the town. His vision was to suspend six 2 x 1⁄2 meter, two-ton rectangles of stone from a hidden steel structure to create the illusion that they were floating. And he envisioned these large blocks of stone to be splayed with bubble-like protrusions.
Here’s where the BIM process became so important. Without it, Berés would not have been able to realize his vision to create such a unique and difficult structure. With it, he was able to go directly from concept to manufacturing, and bring the distinctive, freeform elements of the building to life.
Berés and his team rented a five-axis CNC milling machine; this was the first time in Europe that a computer-controlled mill was used
to carve stones for a modern project. Berés tested exporting STL (stereo lithography) files from several BIM packages, and found the Vectorworks® functionality worked best. With the unique ability to transfer the data to the CNC driver and directly fabricate large, heavy stones, the team saved the town a significant amount of money, since hiring a stone carver would have cost three times more - and taken much longer. From start to finish, it was an 18-month project.
The firm also cut its costs by creating the construction documentation directly from the model, integrating coordinated plans, sections, elevations, and 3D views. This reduced time and expenses by an additional 30 percent.
Beaux Arts
All photographs and images by Platane Berès


































































































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