Article source: AAVP Vincent Parreira

Once across the threshold of this school complex near Paris delivered by the architect Vincent Parreira, the child enters a non-standard world, one that evokes the troglodyte houses,  vernacular architecture… or a pupil’s escape.

In the 21st century metropolises, as urbanization has continued to expand, there are still some areas that have remained virgin territory. The site chosen for building the school was such a case. At the time of the competition, it was an empty lot bordered by vast farming concerns, the famous caricature that seemed a thing of the past, the “beet fields” that saw new towns and housing projects popping up during the post war boom decades. In a context with vague outlines, the building takes up its position, organized to form a little miniature town, a school hamlet. It extends along a narrow little pedestrian street, forming a continuous built front, but fragmented into several volumes and providing access to the various parts of the program: primary school, leisure center, and caretaker’s lodge.

Image Courtesy © Luc Boegly

• Architects: AAVP Vincent Parreira
• Project: Louis de Vion school group
• Location: 31 avenue de la Société des Nations, 77144, Montévrain, France
• Photography: Luc Boegly
• Client: Town of Montévrain
• Client representative: Aménagement 77
• Landscape design: Atelier Roberta
• Cost: 11,3 exc VAT
• Floor area: 5 187 m²
• Calendar: completed in 2016

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