Hellin Sebbag Architectes' project had a Bâtiment à Energie POSitive objective (BEPOS), which means that the building produces more energy than it consumes.
It was constructed around a courtyard, surrounded by two 3-storey teaching blocks.
The parallelogram form of the courtyard results from the superimposition of the access road and north-south building orientation. Due to the differing volumes, it generates spaces with distinct functions, while enabling optimal surveillance. Independent of the educational facility, the boarding school and staff accommodation are located outside the courtyard, opposite the sports field.
In three superimposed curves, the reception building unrolls like a ribbon to form a welcoming entrance. Its awning is supported on elegant V-shaped columns of ultra high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPC).
Green progressively tints the reception building curve to highlight the entrance porch from a distance by capturing the rays of the rising sun. Likewise, on arrival by the RD32 roundabout, the two gables of the teaching blocks, which frame the facade of the reading room, are clad in a predominantly green terracotta mesh that serves as the background to the portrait of Simone Veil.
To deliver a biosourced building and respect the short construction timeline, a timber structure was chosen: solid timber columns, beams and floors in cross-laminated spruce (CLT), with timber frame walls (Murs à Ossature Bois - MOB) in elevation. Rather than timber, facades are clad glazed terracotta for its durability, thermal inertia and ease of maintenance. Inside, the timber remains very apparent: the corridor walls are lined with birch panels and acoustic ceilings have undulating slats in the Documentation Centre and restaurant.
In addition to the photovoltaic panels on the roofs of the two teaching buildings and boarding school, a photovoltaic canopy is located over the entrance building to remind users and visitors that the school’s positive energy is partly due to renewable energies.
The roofs of the lowest buildings are gardens with gentle curves - like valleys and hills - as if the ground has risen to the roofs, moulding them into free forms.