Groupe Scolaire Claudie Haigneré / ValletdeMartinis Architectes

Architects: ValletdeMartinis Architectes
Area: 3781 m²
Year: 2023
Photographs: Charly Broyez
Lead Architects: Skander Chagour
Program / Use / Building Function: School
City: Brétigny-sur-Orge
Country: France

Groupe Scolaire Claudie Haigneré school complex designed by ValletdeMartinis Architectes in France integrates a nursery, elementary school, daycare, and catering center into the fabric of an eco-neighborhood. The design responds to its context with a unified form articulated by independently treated facades and three volumes facing Avenue Jacqueline de Romilly. A timber-framed facade on a concrete base reveals the structure, while brick is used to modulate natural light. The comb-like layout organizes spaces around two playgrounds and central shared areas, separating the nursery on one level from the two-level elementary school. Each section has direct outdoor access through dedicated halls and patios. The design supports ecological goals with vegetated terraces and gardens, and pedagogical aims through spatial autonomy and natural materials like mud brick and wood. Circulation zones include vestibules with benches and coat racks, framed by glazed openings for daylight and passive supervision, reinforcing the connection between learning and environment.

Groupe scolaire claudie haigneré / valletdemartinis architectes

Like a piece of a puzzle, the school complex comprising a nursery school, an elementary school, a catering center, and a day-care center was built on a plot of land bordered by the Joncs Marins, the Jardin de Traverse, a network of small houses, and several multi-family residential buildings. To integrate with this context, the architects analyzed the urban plan designed for this section of the eco-neighborhood in order to distill its defining characteristics. The school group was conceived as a unified whole, while each facade was treated individually, responding to the orientation of each building. This approach produced a layered and volumetric landscape across the site, with three distinct volumes rising along the main facade on Avenue Jacqueline de Romilly, corresponding to the three components of the school complex.

The exterior envelope features a timber-framed facade with a wooden spine grid set on a concrete base, revealing the building’s structural logic. The use of natural materials, particularly the varied applications of brick, is intended to produce different treatments of natural light depending on location and time of day, emphasizing the envelope’s depth. The overall layout of the school complex follows a comb-like configuration, organized around two playgrounds, the canteen, communal areas, and the ALSH, all positioned at the center of the site. This arrangement separates the kindergarten from the elementary school. The kindergarten occupies only the first floor, while the elementary school spans two levels, with shared spaces on the first floor and all classrooms and adult facilities distributed across the ground floor and first level. This spatial configuration establishes autonomy for each of the three main entities and simplifies orientation, with each hall connected directly to an outdoor area: the two playgrounds and a 110 m² central patio. A second, smaller patio opens the elementary school’s dining room to a densely planted exterior.

This organization and the interplay of volumes allow each child to establish a personal relationship with both learning spaces and outdoor areas. The design of the playgrounds was developed in direct connection with the interior layout to create distinct atmospheres for each school: a cloister-like space with peripheral circulation for the kindergarten, and a forest-facing orientation for the elementary school. The ground floor level (R+1), dedicated solely to the elementary school, provides access to expansive planted terraces and functional educational gardens, including a vegetable garden and a nursery, which contribute to reducing the urban heat island effect and serve as ecological resources.

The kindergarten restrooms, which occupy a smaller area than the classrooms, follow the same spatial organization but include a small ornamental garden that functions as a planted buffer between the Jardin de Traverse and the children’s rest area. To maximize the connection with the natural surroundings, the architects oriented the exercise and rest rooms directly toward the Jardin de Traverse, providing children with views of the outdoors and allowing sunlight to diffuse into the spaces throughout the day.

Natural materials were used throughout both the interior and exterior, including mud brick, wood, and wood fiber acoustic insulation. The intent was to establish a warm, calm atmosphere that supports students’ development. Materials such as mass-treated wood were selected for their durability, which surpasses that of veneer alternatives. Circulation areas were designed to make both students and adults feel at home; each hall is generously proportioned and serves as an interface between the city and the school, offering moments for students to share their work with parents. Access to classrooms is marked by a widened circulation zone that forms a vestibule carved into the mud-brick walls. This space includes a wooden bench and coat racks, where children can personalize their area with their names, encouraging a sense of ownership and spatial orientation. The lockers act as transitional elements between the classroom interior and its exterior context. Large glass frames placed above the coat hooks enable teachers and staff to maintain visual contact with the classrooms, while also allowing diffused, secondary natural light to filter in throughout the day.