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Architects: Agence VEA – Architects
- Area: 1100 m²
- Year: 2014
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Photographs:Sergio Grazia
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Manufacturers: Fundermax
Text description provided by the architects. Located at the edge of Canal de l'Ourcq, the nursery takes place in the XIXth arrondissement of Paris, a lively Parisian district.
Metaphor of a boat moored on the canal, the building is hiding a hanging garden behind its Fundermax facade. The zinc cabin receiving nursery headteacher housing overlooks the entire edifice.
The main site issue was to succeed to handle the huge level differences of this cramped plot. Our idea was to create a ground dock "technical" floor with the kitchen, the laundry, and all the non-children rooms, while the nursery main entrance was on rue de l'Ourcq, upstairs.
Site narrowness has conducted us to build on the whole triangular plot. Curved building forms repeat interior spaces and were dictated by the imperative of non-prominent angle for the children. We have exploited this idea offering soft and welcoming shapes, associated with warm colors like the wood in facade. Wood facade is a nod to the social housing building around designed a hundred year ago.
On the rooftop, while children have their own space to play outside games, photovoltaic panels allow the building to produce as much energy as it consumes. A free-cooling system enables summer night-time refreshing, thanks to the opening of gusseted frames hidden behind Fundermax perforated pannels.
