Le Penhuel & Associés prioritises “warm and welcoming” biomaterials at French school

A lantern-like sports court sits on the roof of this load-bearing stone and timber school in France, designed by local studio Le Penhuel & Associés.

Located in the Paris suburb of Tremblay-en-France, the 2,400-square-metre Groupe Scolaire Simone Veil contains eight classrooms, a canteen and administrative areas, as well as a sports court that is shared with local community groups.

Paris-based Le Penhuel & Associés used a palette of biomaterials for the school, including timber, local limestone and earth bricks, reflecting its belief that educational buildings have a responsibility to demonstrate sustainable building methods.

“We believe that a school building should clearly express its environmental commitment,” associate architect Warren Lepolard told Dezeen.

“Material choices, therefore, focused on geo-sourced and bio-based materials,” Lepolard continued.

“The facades are built with load-bearing stone from Bonneuil-en-Valois. Its thickness provides significant thermal inertia, while its local origin ensures durability, ease of maintenance and long-term stability of the building’s appearance.”

Lepolard added that the use of biomaterials also brings warmth and a natural aesthetic to the building.

“Inside, the extensive use of timber structure creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere,” he explained. “The addition of raw earth bricks between classrooms further enhances the visibility of natural and bio-based materials used throughout the building.”

Respecting the smaller scale of the neighbouring residential properties, Groupe Scolaire Simone Veil is organised predominantly across a single storey. A smaller first floor contains both the sports court and an apartment for the school’s guardian.

Two axes form a cross shape at the centre of the school’s plan, with an elongated entrance hall from north to south and a “classroom street” connecting the teaching spaces from east to west.

This internal street is lined with colourful, arch-shaped alcoves and storage areas that overlook a row of small external patios through full-height, timber-framed windows.

Where these two routes intersect, an internal playground that doubles as a space for temporary exhibitions and events was created, demarcated by colourful blue and orange floor graphics.

“One of the project’s key gestures lies in the design of numerous ‘furniture-spaces’ integrated into circulation areas,” Lepolard explained.

“These elements allow children to appropriate transitional spaces as playful places for learning and relaxation, transforming movement through the building into a pedagogical experience,” he added.

Positioned above the canteen and administrative areas, a large stair leads up to a timber-decked terrace and Groupe Scolaire Simone Veil’s rooftop sports court.

The court is framed by a large timber column and wrapped by metal mesh and polycarbonate screens. Alongside it is a steel spiral staircase leads up to an even higher roof terrace, offering expansive views out across the city.

Elsewhere in France, NTSA Architectes recently used rammed-earth walls and “age-old know-how” for its extension of a school in Villefranche-sur-Saône and Coldefy completed a timber-framed school in Cambrai with a cantilevered first floor.

The photography is by Vladimir de Mollerat du Jeu.

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