Located in the Montjoie ZAC (urban development zone), this new facility represents both an urban and architectural challenge in its size and programmatic mix of high school and student boarding house.
For the plan, the architects drew inspiration from the spiral, symbolizing movement, progress through knowledge and enhanced social standing through culture and study. The functional organization of this new institution is designed to be open to the neighborhood and the wider city. Raised volumes, in bridge form, open new perspectives and visual connections between the public space, the forecourt, the courtyard, the covered playground and the interior gardens.
The high school, the boarding house and staff housing units are placed above the food service area, which is shared by all and ties the entire the program together.
The façades are treated as a tangle of ribbons in movement. Passing imperceptibly from the exterior to the interior. Floor plan transitions are enhanced by changes in the materials employed. On the town side, textured concrete panels clad the partitions; on the inside, gray wooden paneling is used to capture the recreation contained in the yard.
