Arch power: Primary School & Sport Hall / Chartier-Dalix architects

Primary School & Sport Hall / Chartier-Dalix architects: "

Paris-based Chartier-Dalix architects shared with us their winning proposal for a competition to design a primary school and sport hall in Boulogne Billancourt, a commune in the western suburbs of Paris. More images and architect’s description after the break.

Courtesy of Chartier-Dalix architects

At the heart of the large ongoing urban renovation of the area including the now well-known Ile Seguin, where Renault used to have their main factories, Chartier Dalix Architectes just won the competition for an innovative type of school. It will be mixed with a public gymnasium and both will be covered with a “living” shell, hosting a wide range of local fauna and flora, from bugs to owls through different species of trees and plants. The matter being to simulate a self-contained ecosystem, a landscape and a view for the surrounding buildings, a rich field of explorations and discoveries for children. In this complex context we opted for a plain architecture, connecting volumes and fonctions into a fluid shape. This artificial topography generates hollows and bumps, paths and sheltered areas, with no rupture or arrangement.

The school is an extruded bit of territory, a both human promoted and self growing canopy landscape. Following this logic, class rooms softly curl up arround playgrounds and vegetated areas, increasing contacts and views.

Courtesy of Chartier-Dalix architects

Architects: Chartier-Dalix architects
Location: ZAC Rives de Seine, Lot A4 Est, Boulogne Billancourt [92]
Client: SAEM Val de Seine Aménagement
Budget: 12.5M€ HT
Project area: 6,590 sqm
Project Team: Franck Boutté (HEQ consultant), E.V.P. (structure),CFERM (fluids), Fabrice Bougon (économist.), Atelier d’Ecologie Urbaine (ecologist)
Project Year: 2011-2013
Images: Courtesy of Chartier-Dalix architects