Built in 1954 by André Rivoire, architect, ornithologist and friend of the founder of Tour du Valat, Luc Hoffmann, the building was long called the “Lab” by its occupants and has since been the focus of renovation work in recent years to improve its energy performances.
The encounter between a man and the Camargue
Just as his career path as a captain of industry was all set before him, Luc Hoffmann discovered the Camargue in 1946, in a devastated Europe. It was an emotional shock, the beginning of an inextinguishable passion for this land at the end of the world. In August 1954 he creates the “Tour du Valat Biological Station”. Its main activity, ringing birds, makes it one of the first ringing centres in Europe and the first in the Mediterranean.
A building with an area of 652m2 was therefore built by the Marseille architect and ornithologist André Rivoire and was inaugurated on 2 August 1954.
The particularity of the “Lab”, name given to the building since the 60s by its occupants, was that it not only housed all the facilities necessary to make it a research centre, but at the time it was also the home of the researchers and their families.
Over the years hundreds of people have worked within the walls of this building and have walked in Luc Hoffmann’s footsteps, some for a few months or a few years. And for some their entire life.
Time for a renovation
Since 2010 a large-scale architectural, energy and functional renovation project was undertaken with a focus on energy efficiency. The work involved careful bioclimatic treatment of the structure with an emphasis on bio-sourced and, when possible, local materials such as rice hulls. Thanks to this rehabilitation and the effort of the occupants, energy consumption was divided by 6. Particular attention was given to the comfort in summer with the installation of air movers, tilt and turn windows that allow for natural ventilation at night and numerous sunshades installed on the south and east-facing windows.
The inauguration of an exemplary building
On 28 October 2021, in the presence of two of his children, Maja and André Hoffmann, the deputy mayor of Arles, Pierre Raviol, the architects, Bijan Azmayesh and Jeremy Lasne, the bioclimatic and energy project manager, Robert Celaire, and in front of a diverse group of guests (contractors who worked on the project, institutional partners, friends of Tour du Valat and employees), the building was officially inaugurated, thus becoming the “Luc Hoffmann” building.
The rice farmer Pierre Raviol, deputy mayor of Arles, was particularly impressed: “This project shows how attached you are to this region and you are setting an example for all the inhabitants to follow”.
To discover this building
The Tour du Valat is not usually open to the public during the year, however it is possible to visit us during our Open Day which takes place once a year on World Wetlands Day. It will take place in 2022, on Sunday 6 February [1]. The building will be open for visits during this day. To receive more information on our upcoming events you can subscribe to our newsletter [2].
Below are some pictures of this inauguration: