Paris-based ateliers O-S architectes (Vincent Baur, Guillaume Colboc, and Gaël Le Nouëne) has designed a new school facility in Béziers, a city in southern France. The newly constructed École Samuel Paty was completed in conjunction with Montpellier-based NAS Architecture.
The construction of the Samuel Paty School is part of the urban renewal of the Devèze district of Béziers. The school’s design combines massiveness with porosity and its volume adapts to the site’s topography.
The single story building is built on a human scale and its roof, visible from all angles, acts as a facade in its own right. The use of sanded concrete unifies the different planes. The building is hybrid in nature, its materiality differing externally and internally. The outward-facing structure is heavy while the interior courtyard-facing structure is much lighter — here, classrooms with large glazed frames open onto playgrounds, terraces, and relaxation spaces and a sheet metal roof covers the learning areas.
The Samuel Paty School consists of both a kindergarten school located on the northern side (with six classrooms and sleeping areas) and an elementary school on the southern side (with nine classrooms), each with their own playgrounds; the elementary school corridor incorporates a mezzanine reception. Additional common areas, including a library, kitchen, canteens, and medical facilities, are accessed via a shared outdoor space with an educational garden.
(0. Courtyard; 1. Entrance atrium; 2. Kindergarten hall; 3. Elementary hall; 4. Director's office; 5. Classroom; 6. Dormitory; 7. Kindergarten playground; 8. Elementary playground; 9. Physical development room; 10. Multipurpose room; 11. Pergola; 12. Educational garden; 13. Library; 14. Kindergarten refectory; 15. Elementary refectory; 16. Kitchen; 17. Delivery area; 18. School medical center; 19. Academy inspection; 20. Staff parking.)
The corridors that wind around the school building provide classrooms with a further buffer from the street. The street-facing concrete facade is non-insulated; acoustic and thermal insulation is used on the classroom side.
From the project’s outset, ateliers O-S architectes focused on preserving the site’s existing trees. The school’s entrance and forecourt are situated at the junction of two driveways, one with sycamore trees and the other with pine trees.
The use of greenery continues within the school’s grounds; in one area, plants are placed beneath a huge concrete roof with three large circular skylight openings — this space offers protection from the elements and a meeting place.
Internal spaces: 3,800 square meters (40,903 square feet)
External spaces: 4,500 square meters (48,438 square feet)