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Positive Energy School in Oise

This is a project by Gemaile Rechak Architecte and it is located at Breteuil, Oise, France. Project's program: Nursery school with 4 classes, 1 motricity room and annex premises. There are twelve images for Positive Energy School in Oise.

: © Pierre Yves Brunaud

Project details

Project name: Positive Energy School in Oise
Location: Breteuil, Oise, France
Program: Nursery school with 4 classes, 1 motricity room and annex premises
Area: Net Floor Area: 530 m2
Year: Completion: September 2010
More details: Cost: € 1,000,000 • HQE Approach: Positive Energy Building • Energy Consumption: -0.1 kW/h/m2 per year
Client: Town of Breteuil (60)
Project by: Gemaile Rechak Architecte

Project images

Designer's statement

Energy Plus School in France.

Located in the extension of the entrance hall and visible from the rue des Ecoles, the circulation which leads to the classes forms a transition between the urban style and the style of the project. Accompanied by “cabins” which are arranged on the doorsteps to the classrooms, this circulation draws its light from large bay windows looking onto the courtyard. More than a development, it symbolises a link between the areas, in true harmony with the children who develop there. As regards the access to the motricity room, it is decorated with a very bright colour, like a magic passage to this place which is visited by all the children.

The project adopts the principal of bending, generated by the ductile shaping of copper. Original and pre-finished, the copper uncoils around the walls up to the ceiling. It covers the school in a shimmering skin with subtle colour changes over the course of time and the seasons, from golden to dull. On an urban level, this plan ensures the coherence of the architectural project through the continuity of the surfaces of the walls and ceilings, enabling the creation of a transversal relation with the adjoining red brick schools. On an architectural level, the classrooms find a second natural light thanks to the raising of the roof which, by bending, attracts light from the East and North. With regard to the detail, this system of bending is a cladding with a fitting technique which adopts an upright join.

The plot of land is registered in the area for the Protection of Historic Monuments. The main challenge of the project is therefore to ensure the insertion of this new school in a context where the constructions, materials and sizes are expressive and varied. The choice of a resolutely contemporary architecture, as in the current case, aims to extend the existing urban style and to establish relationships between the materials and the neighbouring buildings. As well as its contextual geometry, the building is compact and graphic. Closed on the North side in order to limit energy losses, it preserves the privacy of the pupils from the street. Open to the South, it offers a pleasant courtyard at the heart of the building and is protected from overheating in summer by the triple glazed bay windows with argon strips. These characteristics give the bioclimatic results which are still very rare in France for this type of public facility. Its copper roof has photovoltaic panels which currently produce more energy than is consumed.