New high school of Haute-Savoie

This new general and vocational secondary school is located at the entrance to the town as a new urban landmark, at the interface between residential areas and business parks. It is set in a mountainous landscape and allows nature to penetrate right down to the foot of the buildings.

The architecture of this new facility is inspired by mountain massifs, with its undulating lines and sloping sides. The building attracts the eye through its choice of materials: timber frame, concrete and dry stone base, timber cladding facades protected by metal sunshades depending on orientation. Its volumes are also an invitation to enter the school, thanks to the large openings, perspectives, double-height effect and transparency.

Our desire to establish a strong dialogue with the public space is embodied in a vast wooded forecourt, designed as a park, which showcases some of the school’s symbolic spaces, such as the resource centre (CDR) and the sports hall. This open forecourt is extended by a secure inner forecourt for entering the school.

The entrance to the building is a breakthrough, like a breach in the mountain. A walk-through hall opens up the view all the way to the back of the plot. This luminous double-height hall opens onto a beautiful interior park-garden, bringing the landscape into the school. This park is both a meeting place and a place for socialising. A covered, plant-filled gallery runs through it, linking the hall to the various parts of the school. This gallery serves the vocational workshops, the school life areas and the dining room at the heart of the school.

Inside, wood is used extensively for its acoustic qualities and for its warm, friendly feel. On the upper floors, the classrooms are bathed in light, and the corridors are generous and open to the landscape. The project also has ambitious environmental objectives, including the use of bio-sourced materials with excellent thermal properties; energy efficiency thanks to a biomass boiler, solar energy, a geothermal heat pump system and photovoltaic installations; and, last but not least, careful management of water resources through the recovery of rainwater.

This new high school in Haute-Savoie is a showcase for the values it stands for: respect for and enhancement of the environment and its resources; a desire to provide an inspiring setting, conducive to study and the well-being of students.