Inspired by the industrial past of the Ile de Nantes river island in the center of Nantes, the architects of François Leclerc's studio took the elongated volume of the dock as the basis for the new building, where the main action takes place around the central object: this is how the covered “street” 150 meters long became the compositional and semantic axis of the International Lyceum named after Nelson Mandela (video of the "flyby" of the building can be viewed here).
The lyceum, which opened in 2014, is a secondary school of the second level, intended for 1,500 young people aged 15-20 from expat families, for whom French is a foreign language. For 154 of them, housing was provided on the principle of a boarding school, grouped mainly in the south-western, "home" end of the building, containing a kitchen block and rooms overlooking the courtyard or the city. At the opposite end of the building there are two gyms and a climbing wall.
On both sides of the "main nave" there are lines of classrooms and living rooms connected by a corridor: their windows overlook either the Loire or the "nave" space. The glazed roof provides natural light to all areas facing the building, while the glued roof structures create a play of light and shade that changes the appearance of the main public space.
during the day (selection of photos). The image of wooden triangular trusses refers to the construction of the roof of medieval salt barns (greniers à sel): it turns out that people from different countries gathered in the shadow of French history, who chose France as a place to live.
Building structures - post-beam frame made of glued timber and glued triangular spatial truss carrying the roof. Composite slabs: concrete with fixed 18 mm OSB formwork on glued beams with a pitch of 1400 mm. Oak is used for the interior decoration, and the façade is clad in maritime pine wood, which is abundant in the surroundings of Nantes.
The educational complex, with a total area of 25,500 m2, flows into the urban fabric, opening up a public event space and a stadium for local residents. All functional parts of the building - gyms, cultural center, cafeteria - work not only in conjunction with each other, but also for the city: each component has its own independent entrance and postal address. The 250-seat concert hall adjoining the main building from the south, where the National Orchestra of the Pays de la Loire rehearses, echoes the adjacent building of the Conservatory.
Thus, the school for foreigners does not isolate itself, turning into an island within the island, but opens outward, creating an environment for assimilation and the formation of a community. Its territory is not fenced by any fence: the borders are delineated only by a system of ponds and canals.
