During the groundbreaking ceremony in October 2021, Mayor Michèle Picard outlined that by 2025, the district would be home to 2,300 jobs and 2,000 residents, within a public space of 6 hectares. In light of this, the extension of the school complex was deemed essential to ensure that the children in the community could be cared for in the best possible conditions.
Architect Denis Guillet, designed the new three-storey building (1900 m2) to complement the existing one. "It's an unusual volume for a school building, but we had to preserve the existing courtyards. On the first floor, there are catering facilities with a dedicated area for kindergarten children, and on the upper floors, twelve classrooms - 9 of 60 m2 and 3 of 75 m2 - all equipped with the latest technology. "The rooms can be used for a variety of purposes, including school and extracurricular activities. We also completely redesigned the playgrounds," explains the architect.
High environmental standards
For this project, the city aimed to elevate the environmental standard of the building to the next level. For example, the building's structure and foundations were constructed using concrete with a lower carbon footprint.
Renewable energy sources power the heating system for the school, thanks to a connection to the city's biomass boiler plant. Lighting throughout the building utilizes LED technology, while double-flow ventilation has been incorporated. To ensure comfort during the warm summer months, air fans and blackout systems in the classrooms protect pupils and teachers from overheating without air conditioning.
The architect’s choice to use Rockpanel was a rational decision, considering its composition of compressed stone wool sourced from basalt, an natural, abundant resource. Familiarity with Rockpanel and its built-in properties further solidified this choice. "Highly durable and 100% recyclable, they were easily integrated into the environmental requirements of the project.
