Simone Veil School Complex and Dojo
Facing the main square of the neighbourhood, the school complex presents itself as the landmark of a new centrality. Its strategic position makes this facility a real urban and architectural challenge for the city and its future development.
The volumes create a landscape of roofs and vertical elements reminiscent of a village. This universe stands out from the surrounding residential buildings and highlights the programmatic richness of the facility, making it a unique architectural event.
The buildings border public spaces, particularly the square and its two corners. On the east side, the existing planted strip expands to become the project’s green universe, forming the landscape of the playgrounds and restaurants.
The northwest corner of the plot acts as the focal point of the new city entrance. It becomes an urban landmark in the larger landscape, a totem with a striking form, emphasizing the presence of the school complex.
The southwest corner of the plot houses the large roofs of the two dojos. These double-sloped volumes evoke the traditional form of such programs while reinterpreting it in a contemporary way, creating identifiable volumes that match the scale of the main square.
Thus, the roof volumes express both the cohesion of the whole and the diversity of its components.
The project proposes an "enclosed" layout. This “C”-shaped organization helps internalize the spaces and ensure security, while optimizing the facility's functionality. It is organized around playgrounds that open to the east, aligned with the existing trees.
In the north, the kindergarten is protected from the public space by an enclosing wall, allowing for classrooms that open widely onto private gardens, which teachers enjoy using when the weather permits. Each classroom is designed like an identifiable house, helping children navigate and evolve spatially within the building year after year.
The library, accessible from the primary school hall and open to the playground, is a central element of the program, distinguished by its prime location and specific architectural treatment. Similarly, the room for mobility games is accessible from the kindergarten hall and is also given special treatment, making it one of the most striking spaces of the facility.
The primary classrooms are located upstairs. Served by a wide staircase and circulation space open to the main square, they offer views to the east over the playgrounds.
The location of the dining area on the eastern edge of the facility helps differentiate this part of the complex, making it a large house with an identifiable architectural expression. Lunch is a special time in the day, and it is important to distinguish it from other activities, making it a unique moment and space.
To allow for future flexibility of the school complex and provide structural adaptability, the project is based on a post-and-beam framing, which limits structural impacts and allows for simplified modifications to space layouts.
The dojos feature a fully wooden structure. The exposed framework gives them a high-quality aspect and an atmosphere suited to the imagination of martial arts.
The façades facing public spaces are made of self-supporting, light-coloured solid clay bricks. This durable material gives a vibrant quality to the surface, which is applied manually. The roofs are clad in light-coloured zinc, which lightens the volumes. The dining area is an exception, treated with pre-greyed openwork wooden cladding.
Thus, this is a welcoming and remarkable building for the neighbourhood. Its large roofs create the image of a calm centrality that appeals to both children and parents from the surrounding area. The facility becomes a village, with buildings for various uses, unified into a coherent whole that fosters a unique and accessible imaginary world.
