The school will be built in the Aude-Dokken area - "Old Docks", which since the 2000s have been transformed from an industrial zone into a residential area with green spaces, marinas and pedestrian bridges according to the general plan of OMA.
The main challenge faced by the XDGA architects was combining a diverse program with a very small site. The new building will house an elementary school for 240 students, an after-school center for 56 places and a nursery for 28 places. Also provided are sports facilities that will be used by both schoolchildren and residents of neighboring houses.
The solution was to place all the points of the program in two paired volumes - open and closed. Together they occupy the largest possible part of the site, and are united by an outer frame made of galvanized steel.
In the volume, where all the "open air" spaces are collected, the frame is partially covered with a metal mesh, which will become a support for climbing plants. The openings in the grid echo the combination of monolithic and transparent parts of the "closed" volume, from the windows of which there are views of the nearby square, street, pier and park.
