France
is transparent and through its huge windows the
park landscape is totally exposed.
The playground is covered with gravel. A humorous
touch is provided by the specially designed colourful
giant frogs in concrete which invite children to play.
The paths around the building are made out of
exposed aggregate concrete. The terraces and
paths leading out to the park are made of wood.
A sophisticated detail is that the planks are linked
together by screws from underneath, so that the
screw-heads cannot be seen from above. Details
like support walls and steps are made out of béton
sablé (sand-blasted concrete). Different kinds of
concrete are used quite often in France to provide a
variety of surfaces. Lamps are incorporated into the
supporting walls.
A wind turbine was added during the feasibility
studies and has become a landmark in the area.
You can see it from far away coming along the A16.
This also underlines the environmental quality of
the site. The wind turbine produces all the electri-
cal power for the Bay of Somme service station,
500,000kWh per year.^9
From the service building you can enter a cylindri-
cal tower, 19m in diameter, which rises 10m above
the ground. A staircase winds its way around the
outside to the top. On the ground floor, there is an
exhibition about the region with a slide show of the
Bay of Somme. The surrounding landscape can be
seen from the top of the tower, a view that extends
all the way to the coast. Here you also have a view
of the 10ha park. It is interesting to note that from
this viewpoint you cannot see the service area itself
because of the roof of the main building.
Hedges of Carpinus betulus and different kinds of
roses divide the various areas close to the service
building. A grid of Fraxinus velutina has been plant-
ed, extending the rhythm established by the pillars
of the service building.
