HEMAA has completed the Jacques Prévert Public Services Centre (Maison des services publics Jacques Prévert) in Évry-Courcouronnes, France. Located between the neighbourhoods of Les Pyramides and Le Bois Sauvage, the 2,474-square-metre building brings a range of municipal, childcare, cultural, and community services together under one roof. It is accompanied by 1,000 square metres of external space. Open to residents throughout Évry-Courcouronnes, the centre is conceived as both a public facility and a shared civic space connecting the two neighbourhoods.

The programme includes a branch town hall, parenting centre, multi-activity space, 30-place nursery, cultural space with a 180-seat multipurpose performance hall and dance studio, and sociocultural spaces for art, music, and workshops. A third place provides public internet access, while the external spaces include a bird refuge garden.

An interior street extending public space

At the centre of the building, a naturally lit and generously glazed interior street runs from north to south, forming the principal circulation route and a shared space for different activities and gatherings. Conceived as more than a corridor, it provides an intergenerational space where residents using the building’s different services can meet and spend time.

The interior street runs alongside a planted courtyard for the nursery and is punctuated by outdoor seating and relaxation areas. With public space on all four sides, the centre has entrances at the north and south ends of the street, connecting it with two public forecourts and reinforcing its relationship with the surrounding neighbourhood.

These entrances link the building with the Jules Ferry promenade, a green route crossing the city towards the Seine, and Place Jules Vallès, where the building establishes a civic presence through a large glazed frontage and the entrance to the nursery.

Three pavilions are arranged along the interior street, allowing the different parts of the programme to remain distinct while sharing a common circulation space. To the east, one pavilion accommodates the cultural spaces, including the catering kitchen, dance studio, and double-height multipurpose hall. Two further pavilions are positioned perpendicular to the street on either side of a central courtyard, bringing together the branch town hall, nursery, and sociocultural spaces.

Brick, civic presence, and Évry’s architectural heritage

The building combines extensive areas of glazing with solid red brick facades. Facing the two public forecourts, the glazed elevations create transparency between interior and exterior, while the brick references the distinctive stepped housing of Les Pyramides, developed as part of the new town of Évry, and Mario Botta’s cathedral. The brick gives the centre a recognisable civic presence within the neighbourhood, while its treatment varies across the building in response to the location and function of each facade.

On Place Jules Vallès, a canopy shelters the forecourt serving the multi-activity spaces. Along Allée de la Poule Rousse, the facade is formed as a peristyle that protects the children’s gardens from the street. Brick screens conceal the delivery area and entrance to the underground car park, while variations in the brickwork form base courses, screens, and projecting elements that introduce shadow and relief across the elevations.

The consistent material palette gives the different parts of the building a shared architectural identity, while the arrangement of the pavilions allows their individual functions to remain clearly defined.

Timber, straw, and environmental performance

Behind the brick exterior, the building uses a timber-frame structure insulated with 37-centimetre-thick straw bales installed on edge. Above a low-carbon concrete basement, this bio-based construction reduces reliance on more carbon-intensive materials. The combination of solid brick cladding and timber framing required an ATEX technical assessment because of the unusual construction build-up. Timber remains visible internally across ceilings, walls, and furnishings, contributing to the character and acoustic environment of the public spaces.

The project was designed to outperform the applicable French energy and carbon requirements by five percent. It also achieved the Bio-based Building label, Biodiversity label, Smart Building label, and HQE V3 certification at Excellent level.

Roof landscape and biodiversity

The building is topped by planted roofs that extend the landscaping of the surrounding public realm and are visible from neighbouring residential buildings. Conceived as an ecological refuge within the city’s network of green spaces, the roof landscape creates a range of habitats intended to support flora and fauna, including opportunities for bird nesting.

Rather than treating the roofs simply as planted surfaces, the landscape strategy aims to strengthen ecological continuity across the site and reduce fragmentation between existing green spaces.

Stormwater is retained within the planted roofs and supplemented by a collection tank. The stored water is reused to irrigate the planting through a drip system, providing a controlled water supply that supports plant establishment.

A building designed for living together

The organisation of the centre is intended to make its different services easy to understand and navigate while maintaining a strong relationship between inside and outside. The interior street plays an important role in this, acting simultaneously as circulation, meeting space, and an extension of the surrounding public realm.

Inside, the extensive use of timber across ceilings, walls, and furnishings gives the communal spaces a warmer character and contributes to acoustic comfort. Together with the planted courtyards, glazed elevations, and connections to the forecourts, these elements reinforce the sense that the building is part of the everyday life of the neighbourhood rather than an inward-looking civic institution.

Since opening, the centre has already accommodated activities beyond its everyday programme. The interior street has been used as a polling station and has hosted a neighbourhood festival and an Iftar dinner, demonstrating how the space can be adapted for different forms of civic and community use.

This wider role is particularly significant within a neighbourhood undergoing urban renewal. Rather than presenting the building simply as a collection of public services, HEMAA positions it as a place where residents can meet, take part in shared activities, and strengthen connections between the surrounding neighbourhoods.