NBJ Architectes

The project of restructuring and extension of the high school Paul Valéry of Menton is characterized by a strong duality. On one hand a magnificent site between sea and mountain opened on a distant horizon, and besides very strong constraints, linked to the place of establishment, namely a very strong slope of the ground, the presence of the railroad in the North (important generative of nuisances), the exiguity of available spaces for the extension, associated with a strict urbanistic regulation for the layout of the new buildings. The works led in occupy site were also a major stake in the construction’s system of this project.
So, based on this contradiction, our first objective was the one to establish a unity in the site which we retranscribed by a spatial continuity - due to the necessary connection of buildings between them, and this in spite of the strong altimetry differences of implantation - but also visual continuity, to offer a real identity to this establishment. A unique and identical skin was constituted by breeze wooden sun, comes such as a protective envelope to wrap at the same time the existing buildings and the new constructions.
The regulations in force and the cramped dimension of the plot of land left only allow small range for the implantation of the extensions: in the South for the entities connected to the education and to the North for the boarding school. So, the topography was one of key axes of our reflection. In our sense, to invest a site, it is make a commitment in a new management of the built space, an indispensable and vital management for future, but also to give substance to the space which surrounds it. This work on the relief admits a minimum of reorganization of program to settle the various buildings and organize spaces. Every entity takes place in the landscape, their organization and distribution in the site answers the essential themes that are:
The notion of flexibility, environmental consideration, simplicity of the uses, of feature, coherence which allow the programmatic entities to articulate around outer resized and fitted spaces.
The scale of the place which was organized by implanting building of dimension easily understandable. The management of spaces is thought as urban entity, such as a microcosm offering a diversity of landscapes.
Diversified outer spaces, to offer new progresses, specific identical places, spaces of meetings, places, gardens by respecting the nature of the site. Some of the new buildings will be put in the heart of gardens: vegetalized gardens for the boarding school, but also " urban garden " and mineral for the buildings of education, in the middle of which the restrictive technical elements like extraction of the underground parking were transformed into elements structuring the space by the color and the new feature which was granted to them. They so become benches in the center of the low courtyard.
A coherence in the site respectfull for an environment. From its diverse interventions but also from a homogeneous architectural writing, the project gives to the High school an specific image and graved in the site to not damage the surrounding buildings and not degrade their existing views. On the contrary the implantation of new buildings tries to protect and to contain the possible nuisances produce by the high school: noise pollutions on one hand but also visual. Therefore, they created a “building screen "in the South of the plot of land to filter the activities. The specific work on this screen, but also the constitution of a new skin in venetian blinds wood aimed at two major objectives. The first one describes previously, to set up a visual unity, but also to insure a thermal comfort thanks to the solar protection. Also vegetalized roofs were settled on buildings always in this double objective of constitution of a unity but also to not damage visually the environment, and then to answer a thermal improvement of existing building.
So we met the expectations in term of use, but also in the objectives of sustainable development expressed by the client. What imported us, here was that the question of the sustainable development is not exclusively a technical and thermal question, but also, even above all, an awareness of the common sense and the constitution of pleasant places to live and having the strength to make it part of the history.