Centre Commercial l’Heure Tranquil, Tours, France

Architect: AFI Consulting, Paris
Type of works: design, manufacture and installation of AES curved mild-steel structural system and AFP ETFE membrane.

The architect envisioned l’Heure Tranquille as an inviting open street shopping mall with a transparent roof structure. Novum was able to develop this concept into an economic design by optimizing the steel and cladding to increase roof transparency. The street between the retail stores is covered by Novum’s Air Filled Pillow (AFP) system made with ETFE. The use of ETFE as a large panel roofing material brings natural light to the space below, offering visitors a relaxing, open air feeling, while providing shelter from the elements. The largest pillow covers an impressive 120m². The structural system used was Novum's AES curved mild-steel tubing painted with a two coat system.