interlocking stone volumes sculpt layered school complex by brenac & gonzalez & associes

"Located in the northern districts of Marseille, , Les Fabriques is a complex by Brenac & Gonzalez & Associés designed as a compact, climate-responsive structure built from solid . Positioned on a constrained plot within the Littorale urban development zone, the project integrates a nursery school and an elementary school, each with dedicated reception areas, circulation routes, and naturally lit and ventilated classrooms."

"Additional outdoor areas for the elementary school, like playgrounds, gardens, and educational terraces, are arranged in a stepped configuration rising to the roof. At the request of the City of Marseille, the accommodates a facility that includes half a basketball court, an athletics track, and a tensile mesh structure reminiscent of a catamaran sail. This upper-level program extends the building's public role by serving as a neighborhood gathering space outside school hours."

"BGA's design team defines the complex as a 'landscape building,' composed of interlocking mineral volumes that follow the site's topography. The massing generates sheltered interstitial spaces used as open-air classrooms, performance areas, and gardens. These spaces contribute to climatic comfort while supporting biodiversity, including bird habitats. The overall morphology responds to local environmental conditions, like strong mistral winds, high solar exposure, and recurrent heatwaves, by creating a sequence of protected, navigable zones throughout the school."

Les Fabriques occupies a constrained Littorale urban plot in northern Marseille as a compact, climate-responsive complex housing a nursery and an elementary school. The design consolidates program elements vertically to free ground area for a preschool playground and arranges elementary outdoor areas in stepped terraces rising to the roof. An upper-level facility includes a half basketball court, an athletics track, and a tensile mesh structure, extending public use beyond school hours. The complex is conceived as a 'landscape building' of interlocking mineral volumes that generate sheltered interstitial spaces for open-air classrooms, performances, gardens, and bird habitats, and that respond to mistral winds, high solar exposure, and heatwaves.

Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine