Boulazac , France

Boulazac School

With its 800 m2 cube levitating 1.50 m above the single-storey building, the Boulazac school in the Dordogne defies the laws of gravity! The centrepiece of the project, this multicoloured glazed Piterak Slim box owes its light weight to the remarkable work of architect Bernard Chinours, who designed this stilt-mounted protrusion to act as an easily identifiable landmark.

Year of delivery

2020
Location

Boulazac France
Architect / signatory

Chinours Bernard
Project owner

Mairie de Boulazac Isle Manoire
Installation company

Dubois Turban Perigueux
Photograph

Philippe Caumes

Product name

Piterak Slim
Product form

Standard
Epidermis texture

Through body colour
Surface appearance

Glazed
Color

Émaille
Work

New

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Titre d'article

Chromatic weightlessness

This incredible project is positioned in a four-hectare plot, which includes sports facilities and an early childhood centre. The school was designed as a structural element intended to house both the existing architecture and future structures that will subsequently be added to the plot. The building that houses the pre-school uses its space like a fortified compound. Its thick, three-metre high concrete wall runs around the site, encircling the buildings within.

Above this sits the block that is to be used for primary school classes with its glazed façades in eight colours, the design of which resembles a well-known brand of plastic bricks. “There was a lot of design work to be done at the start and then on site. The puzzle needed to be perfectly matched to ensure that all of the pieces interlocked precisely with one another,” explained Michel Poulard, Works Coordinator at Dubois Turban. “We are always delighted to be involved in new installations and we took a great deal of pleasure in seamlessly bringing this mix of bright colours to life. We hope that there will be more projects like this in the region!”

It would have been a shame if future pupils were not able to also enjoy the spectacle from inside... The architect therefore designed a Mashrabiya at the level of the stairs and platforms, which rotates within the building and allows the children to benefit from natural light from outside while also enjoying the creativeness of the smooth and glossy coloured panels. What a fantastic way to brighten the days of the toddlers, even when it rains!

The word of

Chinours Bernard, Architect

Interview

Bernard Chinours, architect

“For this project, my mind immediately turned to Gaudi and the Park Güell in Barcelona. Sometimes you want to hide away, other times you want to make sure that you are seen. In this case, I imagined ostentatious architecture rather than a primitive building. I selected an enamelled finish that lends the box a stunning presence by highlighting it and setting it apart from the main building by accentuating the contrast. The finish also guarantees that the colours will remain durable. Terracotta is particularly well-suited to projects created with the ambition of cementing themselves in time, but with little maintenance. The terracotta on this levitating box is almost undetectable. The thing that interested me the most was the ability to have a material that is colourful and glossy, but also durable. It is not uncommon to see buildings where the colours have been distorted by the sun after 5 years... Terreal products make it possible to design projects without any nasty surprises. This is a company that has succeeded in updating a traditional material to meet the design requirements of the modern day. Terracotta is no longer confined to use in roofing tiles. It has branched out into façade products, offering the possibility of insulating buildings from the outside. It is a great source of inspiration for architects such as myself.”