One of the most emblematic machines of the old Freinville factory where railway brakes were made was nicknamed: “The Whale”. A compressed air machine was invented around 1900, by George Westinghouse to reproduce all the braking equipment of a train of 50 cars in the limited space of the factory. Made up of tubes wound on themselves, the installation was reminiscent of the rib cage of the marine mammal. The factory that stood here, at the place of this square and this new district ceased operations in 1997.
The breath of the imaginary animal resumes today in this playful structure.
In this social housing district, we made sure to make a simple and neat design with a very limited budget. This is why the structure combines commercial pre-fabricated elements and custom-made stainless steel elements. The flexible playground floor was the subject of specific research. First by observing the changing textures of real whale skins, then with a work of abstraction crossed with the representations of fish by Constantin Brancusi.
Name of the project: Whale’s square
Project category: SCHOOLS AND PLAYGROUNDS
Role of the entrant in the project:
Bassinet Turquin Paysage (Landscape designer_representative of the team)
EPDC (Ingenieur)
Loiseleur Paysage (Gardner)
Project location: Sevran city (93), Dora Bruder Street, Westinghouse district
Cost of the works: € 92 000 excluding tax
Design year: 2015
Year Built: 2019
