The Marxenhouse nursery school is a well implemented building in the urban context of the city of Haguenau (situated near Strasbourg in France). The building, built at the beginning of the 1950’s managed to maintain its initial volumetry despite the evolution of the activities. Two specific volumes are dedicated to particular activities. The main facade has a very formal character thanks to the bas-relief which is attached to it.
The project aims at giving a clear lecture of the existing building while restricting modifications. The three programme components, which are the nursery school, the after-school and the mutualized spaces, are kept into the existing buiding which is itself completely redesigned to fit its current needs.
The educationnal workshops have singular spaces, made of wood and designed as flexible and adaptable pieces of furniture which can be seen as « inhabited walls ».
The entrance of the school is rethinked so as to guide easily the children and their parents. It is materialised by a fence that slides under the volume of the extension which takes place in the schoolyard, creating thus a truly unified entity. The extension consists of a facade that responds to the existing buiding. Very open, it includes a covered courtyart, a hall, a room for physical mobility and storage areas.
