Collège Saint-Exupéry in Lille by M.P. Bouchez Architectes

Under construction since last year, the Collège Saint-Exupéry in Lille's Hellemmes district will be completed in time for the start of the 2013 school year. Won by M.P. Bouchez Architectes in competition against Alzua + and Paindavoine Parmentier, the school will take almost 600 pupils, plus 80 SEGPA pupils (the Hygiène Alimentation Service and Peinture Revêtement vocational streams).

The architects introduce their thinking with a quotation from Saint-Exupéry: “True education is not a matter of talking to you, but of building you ”. Access is from the rue du Progrès, and the administration building is set back to give prominence to the entrance from the roundabout.

The new school forms an enclosure with the courtyard as its central element. An open covered play area divides the courtyard into two spaces and acts as a link between the day-school and boarding blocks. It will house almost 100 boarders.

Collège Saint-Exupéry in Lille by M.P. Bouchez Architectes – © Bocquet — © Bocquet

The various buildings are tied together by a lattice screen that wraps the façades without blocking natural light. The south-west volumes are kept to a lower scale, close to that of the surrounding houses, to limit overshadowing of the courtyard and classrooms. The cultural hall at the main corner overlooks the public space and signals the vocation of the site.

The day-school block stands opposite the old one so that the school can carry on running without interruption. The central corridor is lit by sawtooth rooflights. The school canteen to the north closes off the landscaped patio, which it overlooks. Five staff flats are set behind, at the back of the plot, facing the dome-shaped sports facility.

In thermal terms, the project achieves an envelope air permeability of less than 0.5 m³/h/m² of façade. Ventilation is provided by a system with heat recovery. A Heliopac system is installed on the canteen roof, supplying the domestic hot water circuit. As for room acoustics, these are controlled by acoustic baffles.