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Architects: José Morales, Rémy Marciano
- Area: 9200 m²
- Year: 2012
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Photographs:Philippe Ruault
Text description provided by the architects. The project site is part of an already settled area where valleys have been deeply sculpted by water over time. Our project has been designed to reflect the story of that environment and seeks to tie in with all of these interwoven rich territories.
It nestles into the land by unfolding on the slope along the dry-stone walls adding a new chapter to this region’s history; one that reflects its natural background, its constraints and its identity.
From the beginning, we wanted the project :
· To fit in totally with the landscape of the valley, following the same strip pattern as surrounding villages do;
· To stand at the right height so as to be protected from any flood risks and from noise coming from the nearby quarry and the railroad;
· To sit on the north eastern part of the lot to ensure a larger living space to the south.
By bringing all these key issues together, the project plays an active part in developing the region’s history: it innovates with a new set of good practices and offers the community a local architecture of a new age. Such respect for the landscape holds also true for the choice of materials. Just like any other building in the upper valley, the foundation of the lycée is made of stone and the main body of wood.
The building is both layered and dynamic, stretched out and dense reminding us of very different pictures such as those of walled architectures surrounding fields or villages. It has a shape one can immediately recognize and therefore fulfills the basic condition to be identified as a public building.