AAVP realizes educational centre with bold, archetypal volumes in france

developed by vincent parreira atelier architecture (AAVP), the montesquieu school group and the maison des arts are gathered as three stamped concrete volumes in the french town of sainte eulalie. this project includes ‘an educational and social pole that represents access for all, a place of knowledge, of meeting cultures and brewing. it is part of the territory and is organized as a bridge between knowledge and leisure,’ explains the team. 

image (above and main) © mathieu ducros

AAVP has organized these volumes so as to include fifteen maternal and elementary classes, a leisure center without any form of hosting, and the ‘maison des arts’. moreover, the blocks revolve around a central courtyard where parents and other users come together to decorate the public space and which extends into a shaded zone with photovoltaic panels connecting to the existing courtyard. as a result, the composition of the three buildings reflect an almost traditional, well known, agricultural-centric and bourgeois architecture – in which the patio is reduced to the main uses and programs. 

image © mathieu ducros

all these concrete blocks and landscaped spaces are established in the leveling of the terrain, which is enhanced through a new topography. to best respond to the resulting linkages and gradients, the team proposes to use the redesigned slopes and organize enclosures, sidewalks and proximities between the buildings —  so that the constituted and revitalized places become clearly defined and prioritized.

image © mathieu ducros

image © mathieu ducros

image © mathieu ducros

image © mathieu ducros

image © mathieu ducros 

image © mathieu ducros

image © mathieu ducros

image © mathieu ducros

image © mathieu ducros 

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edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom