The Arbre Blanc

L'Arbre Blanc, the Henry Timber touch!

A look back at a beautiful Henry Timber project, the Arbre Blanc in Montpellier, designed by the Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, inaugurated in 2019.

The building is bold in its structure: a 17-storey, 56-metre hybrid of concrete and steel.

The 193 balconies suspended in the void are made of wood (3300 m2), as is the terrace of the restaurant located on the top floor (300 m2).

Arbre_blanc_Henry_Timber_Groupe_SAMSE
arbre-blanc-reference

"To meet the requirements of this project, we proposed the Accoya" explains Laurent Parisse, commercial director at Henry Timber. "This species is more stable and more resistant than an exotic wood, but above all much lighter! This wood has no knots, it is "ecologically responsible" because it comes from plantations and the principle of acetylation is based on acetic acid, a natural compound in vinegar. Finally, the color of the Accoya is very light, in perfect harmony with the architect's project. "


Regarding the preparation of the terraces: "We have machined rough-edged Accoya wood of 25x150 section into a profile of 20 x 145 section terrace boards with an invisible fixing system (Hard Wood clips)", continues Laurent. “For the restaurant terrace, a non-slip insert has been fixed on the slats (one in two) to meet the safety requirements for a public place.

 

The steel structure balconies were fixed to the crane on the building. The company Comarec is responsible for fixing the Accoya boards respecting their very particular shapes ".

L'Arbre Blanc, a beautiful project Henry Timber