Welcoming nearly 2500 students from the secondary to preparatory classes, the Jules Guesde International High School marks its presence on the Avenue de Lodève through its imposing yet generous and inviting forecourt. 

The vast massive stone and concrete gallery mediates the transition from the street to the internal courtyard and links the different buildings blocks whilst underlining the existing vegetation which has been preserved. Itself a sheltered outdoor circulation path, it promotes walking and exploring the site. 

The buildings are simple and rational, and offer generous spaces for learning, the new elements of the programme such as the exhibition hall, library and lavatories, having yet been grafted to the gallery in a unique way. 

The gallery offers a walk between courtyard and garden, space for strolling, meeting and work, conscious that not everything is learned in class. 

Last addition to the complex, the boarding house is grafted to the large gallery in a way that it easily links to the restoration and its entrance faces the one of the High School.  

The entire project is built according to strong environmental considerations. Materials include massive stone, timber and bio-based insulation. 

The double flow ventilation along with the 120-metre geothermal probe, heat pump and photovoltaic field, make this facility an exemplary, energy-efficient educational facility.