To Discover is a School Campus conceived as an archipelago of buildings, where each structure exists as an island within a collective whole. The project interprets the site as a vegetal carpet, upon which a series of architectural forms take shape, accommodating the diverse functions of the school campus. This arrangement gives rise to a new spatial order, resembling a green village.
At the heart of the campus lies a central courtyard, a point of convergence for both the new and existing buildings, interspersed with growing vegetation. Each structure is designed with its own spatial identity and expressive variation, creating a community of distinct atmospheres intended to enrich the daily experiences of the students.
The conceptual framework draws inspiration from Oswald Mathias Ungers' Green Archipelago in Berlin, where a city reclaimed by nature combines existing monumental structures with new architectural interventions. Additionally, the project evokes the urbanistic qualities of the Renanese fabric of individual villas and plots, characterized by the spatial fluidity of voids and vegetation between buildings. This condition fosters visual corridors and clearings throughout the site, opening the school to the neighborhood and ensuring its use beyond school hours, while fostering a sense of community integration.
Within this ensemble, certain pre-existing structures are clarified, while others are removed. The monumental old school serves as a prominent public façade facing the Verdeaux Sports Park, behind which smaller pavilions are clustered. A new volume, containing classrooms, embraces one of the site’s most significant trees with a distributive gallery. Extracurricular activities are emphasized through a volumetric gesture at the primary entrance to the site. Furthermore, the extension of the existing library provides an opportunity to reconfigure the built silhouette, offering a reading space that opens directly to the surrounding nature.
2022
Location: Renens, Switzerland
Programme: School
Surface: 12’400m2
Competition: 3rd Prize
Client: Renens City Council With: Cabinet
Images: Nora Walter