Groupe Scolaire Lucie Aubrac

A public institution with a strong identity – The school is distinguished by its spatial organization and design of the facades of their surroundings. The free form differentiates the building from its environnement of rigid social housing characterizing the area ‘Province de France’ in Nanterre. There is a relationship point of view (a view relation) with the Paris business district La Défense. The highly frequented, Route Nationale 314 runs west to the school building. The site was excavated and earth mound planted. The school complex is organized around two courtyards that offer children different outdoor areas. The yard of the kindergarten was designed as a square, the courtyard of the elementary school as a trapeze. In the south, the campus has been completed by the gym. To the east is the 'Centre de Loisirs', a day home for in France generally established full-day school. The day home also is open to the residents of the neighborhood Province de France, and acts with its library and documentation center as 'house of the neighborhood'. The main entrance of the school is located in the north under the overhanging volume of the library. Visible from the rue de Savoye, it offers a generous covered forecourt for parents and children. Under this covered forecourt there are also bike racks. The location of the lodge allows the control of visitors and students. The young children have a direct access from the covered outdoor area to the hall of the kindergarten. The entrance of the elementary school is situated on the west and can be reached from the forecourt via a covered walkway along the building.

The building – The entire school building is surrounded by a corridor. This bright corridor with windows in different sizes, gives direct access to the classrooms and facilities. The corridor also provides an effective noise control for the exclusively to the courtyard orientated classrooms. All classrooms are extremely quiet and sunny thanks to their orientation.

Surface 5369 m²

Competition 05 | 2007
Start of Planning 12 | 2007
Start of Construction 09 | 2009
Completion 01 | 2012