Competition for the construction of a village school

The project takes advantage of the program imposed to give maximum living space to the village, two schools and a library that can work together or separately. It takes into account the potential of the existing school, its multiple accesses, multiple courtyards and its geometric orientations.

Organised over two levels, the building clearly separates the required programme. The lower ground floor houses the kindergarten classrooms, which provide level access for pedestrians and pushchairs, thereby minimising the use of stairs. The upper ground floor houses the primary school, which retains the principle of several entrances. The extra-curricular areas and refectory are also located on the upper ground floor. The latter, located in the existing wing, will be able to function independently if required. On the lower ground floor, the library - adjoining the support classes - has direct access from the main street, allowing it to be used in different ways. This programmatic separation facilitates the phasing of the works, allowing full use to be made of the existing buildings initially. The new wing to be built will allow classes to be alternately transferred, freeing up the two levels of the existing wings to be converted separately.

Located at the intersection of two streets in the heart of the village, the new complex is the bridgehead of the future development of the plateau "Black Eagle". The geometry of the new construction responds to the immediate context: the adjacent school buildings and the nearby village church. As a small body, the added body uses a very limited area of implantation. While remaining in orthogonal geometries in the organization of the interior spaces, the building folds to open the courtyard on the pedestrian service and at the same time opens the perspective on the church. This perspective is accentuated by the orientation of the ridge - typical of the region, parallel to contour lines. Set back from the rue des Monts, the new wing of the school creates a place through which one reaches the upper floor of the school as well as the library which can be opened to the public.

In order to strengthen the identity of the heart of the village, the materiality of the new building clearly shows its public vocation, a mineral envelope. The constructive solution adopted is that of a double concrete wall. The wood is used for framing and is made visible in interior and exterior joinery, acoustical ceiling panels and furniture.