02.05.2025
On the occasion of the publication of the Performance and Functional Requirements Guide for African Tropical Wood Structures, the CNDB, at the initiative of ATIBT, organized a visit to the Jeanne Chauvin Library at the Faculty of Law in Paris-Malakoff. The use of padouk (FSC certified) was central to this project.
As a reminder, this work was funded by the PPECF.
Born from a competition won in 2011, the project by Canal Architecture aimed to harmoniously integrate the building into its surroundings. Located between an old brick building and the residential fabric of Malakoff, the library needed to create continuity with the red-orange tones of the existing brickwork.
The architectural firm chose to experiment with this wood as a frontage/envelope material. The selection of padouk, beyond its unique properties and exceptional durability, was driven by its characteristic red colour. This was a key factor in visually harmonizing the new building with the 1920s brick architecture. Padouk thus became the main material used for the forntage, featured in the exterior cladding (sometimes open-jointed or “clair-voie”), external joinery, and various decorative elements.
Due to regulatory constraints requiring an enhanced fire reaction rating, the padouk underwent a fire-retardant treatment, along with a red-tinted saturator finish to preserve its original color. This treatment was carried out by Woodenha, a company specialized in improving the fire performance of wood materials.
Nearly ten years after the cladding was installed in 2015, no maintenance has been carried out, yet the stability of the frontage remains excellent. Padouk is a tropical hardwood with very high resistance to fungi and dry wood insects. Furthermore, during the drying process, this species shows very low to no risk of warping or cracking. While it can be used in use class 4, padouk was applied here under use classes 3.1 and 3.2, allowing it to withstand various external and structural stresses for many years to come.
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