Nanterre, France

Primary school and Kindergarden Lucie Aubrac

A public institution with a strong identity .
The school is distinguished by its spatial organization and design of the facades of their surroundings. The free form differentiates the building from its environnement of rigid social housing characterizing the area ‘Province de France’ in Nanterre. There is a relationship point of view (a view relation) with the Paris business district La Défense. The highly frequented, Route Nationale 314 runs west to the school building. The site was excavated and earth mound planted.

The school complex is organized around two courtyards that offer children different outdoor areas. The yard of the kindergarten was designed as a square, the courtyard of the elementary school as a trapeze. In the south, the campus has been completed by the gym. To the east is the ‘Centre de Loisirs’, a day home for in France generally established full-day school. The day home also is open to the residents of the neighborhood Province de France, and acts with its library and documentation center as ‘house of the neighborhood’.  

The main entrance of the school is located in the north under the overhanging volume of the library. Visible from the rue de Savoye, it offers a generous covered forecourt for parents and children. Under this covered forecourt there are also bike racks.   The location of the lodge allows the control of visitors and students. The young children have a direct access from the covered outdoor area to the hall of the kindergarten. The entrance of the elementary school is situated on the west and can be reached from the forecourt via a covered walkway along the building.  

The building  
The entire school building is surrounded by a corridor. This bright corridor with windows in different sizes, gives direct access to the classrooms and facilities. The corridor also provides an effective noise control for the exclusively to the courtyard orientated classrooms. All classrooms are extremely quiet and sunny thanks to their orientation.  

The kindergarten
The kindergarten with its five classes is arranged on two floors and accessed via the entrance hall. The common facilities for the day home, kindergarten and elementary school as computer science room, library, exercise room, music room and language laboratory can be reached by the pupils of each institution in a separated, short and clear way. The teachers already have confirmed that orientation in the building is extremely easy for the children.

The Elementary school
The school has 9 classes overall. 2 classrooms are situated on the ground floor, seven classrooms on the first floor. 3 classes are provided with a spacious terrace. The canteen with attached self-service is used by the kindergarten and the elementary school and located between the two courts.

Interior
 Throughout the school linoleum floors were laid. The classrooms vary in color from the common areas. Each classroom has been equipped with acoustic panels and a wall filling board made of perforated aluminum with built-in absorbent material. The school supplies are placed in a special built wooden closet in the classes. 

Transitions 
The corridors in front of the classrooms were equipped with a continuous wooden bench seat with integrated shoe rack as well as coat hooks.  

Gym 
The gym closes at the school complex in the south. Transparent polycarbonate panels ensure a covered access to the gym from the school and the kindergarten. 

Facade 
The facades are made of untreated pine slats. Through their cut and individually mounted alternated with glass surfaces, they produce the vibration of the facade. In order to avoid a direct view from the opposite residential buildings, the facade of the day school has been intensified and conducted over the windows.  Along with the green roofs they form a unity and a strong contrast to the environment 

Home of the caretaker 
The 3 bedroom apartment of the caretaker is located on the 3rd floor and allows from the terrace the overlooking of the school grounds and a view to the Grande Arche at La Défense. 

Parking 
12 parking, available for the teachers and with a direct access to the building are situated at -1.

Europaconcorsi Beta

Primary school and Kindergarden Lucie Aubrac