OLGGA Architectes' proposal for the Groupe scolaire in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux
The wish to shield children from the outside world is a strong thread running through the proposal by OLGGA Architectes. The classrooms are set deep within the plot: halfway between the surrounding roads for the nursery school (école maternelle), and at the back of the site for the primary school. The other spaces, namely the administration and the canteen, form a transition between the two "schools". The multipurpose hall sits at the far end of the nursery school.
This central spine cuts across the plot from one side to the other, bringing the building close to the street serving the new school, which is simply the extension of an existing road that will serve the new neighbourhood. The entrances are placed near the bend in the road, and a railing of vertical bars keeps children safe on their way to school. This approach path extends for a few dozen metres up to the entrance gate.
Each of the two entrances is marked by a recess in the walls. The façades are enlivened by irregular, playful openings. The architects add: "Through this architectural treatment we avoid any form of repetition. In this way we offer unexpected perspectives and a playful architecture. The spaces between the programmatic boxes are generously glazed to open up long views and punctuate the route through the interior".
The brief does split into two schools, but they belong to one and the same school complex. The unity of the project is expressed by a roof that ties the different spaces together. It undulates like a roller coaster over the buildings, forming open covered playgrounds for the pupils. These frame views of the landscape from the classrooms and also define the edges of the playgrounds. The various folds in the roof planes absorb the different ceiling heights required by the functions of the spaces.
I now invite you to conclude this feature with the proposal by the practice M. P. Bouchez
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