Mauges High School
Epicuria Architectes, France
This school is of particular importance since it’s the first public high school in Beaupréau, a town of over 100 000 inhabitants. And even though towns of this size are required by law to have such a facility, Mauges High School will be the first in this area, ending the monopoly private schools held on education in Beaupréau. It has been a long-standing issue in this region that is finally resolved.
In a pristine wooded area, the campus is full of positive energy. The concept offers an original composition in the form of a “chromosome,” hanging on a slope and matching the morphology of the plot. The building is divided into staggered strips that travel along an east-west axis following the contour lines, allowing the whole building to receive sunshine. An internal glass walkway acts like a bioclimatic backbone space, capturing and disseminating heat and light to the interior spaces. This environmentally friendly ambition is reinforced by the compactness of the complex and the creation of a “Canadian” geothermal foundation, ensuring efficient thermal comfort.
The envelope of larch wood, the sandstone bottom underbody, and the green roofs help to anchor the building to its natural environment. It’s also an “open” building, with an auditorium, refectory, and library freely available for occasional events.
Epicuria Architectes conceptualizes its designs in 3D with the use of Vectorworks software, “which offers great ease and mastery when creating 2D drawings from the contest phase to the latter phases.” As a matter of fact, it’s necessary to “feel the edification of the whole project globally” moving toward a more detailed, final 3D model.
The rigorous organization of classes and layers allows a quality DWG exchange with the office interlocutors. The aim of the latter is to model in 3D, ahead of design, with the ability to implement a BIM process. Initially, a schematic 3D model is done, and in the reflection and outline phases, architects “quickly find the matching volumes of the building’s envelope.”
Originally appeared in Modus News 5
Epicuria Architectes - Jean-Michel Buron
Founded in 1999 by Architect and Planner Jean-Michel Buron, Epicuria Architectes is composed of 13 architects. It specializes in public buildings with different contexts but where all projects share a focus on environmental quality. Light, luminosity, and functionality are the key words of Jean-Michel Buron, enabling him to respond to programs and contexts without superfluous gestures.
Photograph, renderings, and ground floor plan by Epicuria Architectes