Client : Municipality of Champagne

Programme : Construction of a school center, extracurricular care unit (UAPE), as well as a triple gymnasium and sports facilities and athlete accommodation.

Surfaces : Built: 5 420,9 m².  Ground: 41 349 m²

Budget : 32 M CHF

Mission : Competition

 

 

Site and Placement

 

The purpose of this new building complex is to express its role as a significant regional facility.

 

Therefore, the main challenge is to find the right balance between these two opposing tensions: careful and respectful integration; and the appropriate institutional scale.

 

Program Layout. Volumes.

 

The program is divided into 5 rectangular-shaped buildings: Education, UAPE, Sports Hall, Athlete Housing, and the snack bar. These buildings are carefully arranged following an urban integration strategy and the internal functionality of the complex.

 

The staggered arrangement of the volumes creates interstitial spaces that accommodate different external programmatic elements. The central and street-facing position is occupied by the UAPE building, the program that will be open during the longest hours. Nearby, but at the rear of the site, are the Education building (to the east) and the Sports Hall (to the west).

 

The free space between these three buildings is “La Place des vignes” (The Vineyard Square). This gathering space, almost urban in character, offers views of the vineyards and hills to the north.

 

The volumetric arrangement of the buildable plot concludes to the east with the cube-shaped Athlete Housing building. Due to its size and program, this building serves as a perfect link between the new facility and the neighboring single-family homes, which until now constituted the western entrance to the village.

 

Finally, the snack bar, which also provides access to the underground changing rooms, is located on the non-buildable plot to the south. While close to the street and access points, and benefiting from views of all the sports fields and playgrounds, its low profile aims to blend into the background behind the existing stone wall and walnut trees.

 

 

Accessibility

 

The accessibility principles outlined in the specifications are followed meticulously to create one of the main themes of the project: “The Gallery,” the outdoor space protected from main circulation routes.

 

The project aims to concentrate most of the access flows around the UAPE building. Specifically:

• The drop-off points for students and deliveries.
• The exterior and underground parking lots.
• The school bus stops.
• Pedestrian access and bicycle parking.
• Independent access to the main programs.

 

This high density of traffic led to the creation of a continuous roof—”The Gallery”—to protect users from the weather. It serves not only to shelter the access and circulation routes but also to functionally link the various entrances and programs, while becoming a distinctive and unifying element.

 

“The Gallery” surrounds the UAPE building, guiding pedestrian traffic from the various access points toward “La Place des Vignes” and to the entrances of the different programs.

 

The Five Buildings

 

The School Building: The main program of the school complex, it is placed at the rear of the plot to gain visibility and allow optimal sunlight exposure to the adjacent recreation and sports areas (the covered playground and grass area).

 

Its layout is organized with a “head” to the west, directly adjacent to “La Place des Vignes.” Here, you’ll find the entrance hall and the Aula on the ground floor, as well as the administration and teaching areas on the upper level. The Place, Hall, and Aula can be combined for large events.
The classrooms are located along the rest of the building toward the east, cleverly divided into groups and benefiting from direct access to the outdoors.

 

The UAPE Building: This building is located at the heart of the complex and is surrounded by circulation routes and the covered gallery. It can be accessed from “La Place des Vignes.” Developed on two levels, it houses the UAPE program and dining hall, as well as the underground parking lot and the SESAF and PPLS offices. These offices have independent access.

 

The Sports Hall: This large nave is partially buried to minimize its visual impact. It is also accessible from “La Place des Vignes.”

 

The Athlete Accommodation: Like the neighboring individual houses to the east, this athlete accommodation is developed over three levels. The ground floor houses the kitchen and dining room, while the upper floors contain the bedrooms and shared bathrooms.

 

The Snack Bar and Locker Rooms: A true meeting point for the village residents, the snack bar features a sunlit terrace with views of the courtyards. In its basement, you’ll find a shooting range, a multipurpose room, and the locker rooms.

 

 

Landscape Concept

 

Structured as a series of staggered spaces defined by the buildings, the landscaping enhances the most significant features of the project through a simple and resource-efficient design vocabulary. It anchors the project in the nearby context of the village, the vineyard slopes, and the orchard, while also taking advantage of the more distant views of the northern hills and the cultivated fields to the south. The project aims to capitalize on the remarkable landscape qualities of the site.

 

The series of checkerboard spaces can be interpreted starting from the west, where the parking area, although a functional space, is landscaped with trees, organizing the flow of cars, buses, and deliveries. To the east, it is followed by the “Place des Vignes,” a mineral courtyard defined by the access facades of the three main buildings of the school complex, and surrounded on three sides by the covered gallery/porch. The northern side of this space opens up to the vineyards, and at the rear, it is articulated by terraces that function as both a boundary and a play and sunbathing area for children.

 

Further east, the large covered courtyard/grass area opens to the south, framing the long façade of the school building and emphasizing its institutional character. Finally, at the far northeast, a weather-protected area opens into a new space behind the athlete housing.

 

The prevalence of grass and vegetation is evident across the entire site. Along the street, continuing from existing trees, walnut trees are aligned on either side of the “Vidéride” path. Lush vegetation composed of indigenous species defines the boundaries of different programs and accompanies the interior pathways. Occasionally, larger individual trees or small groups of trees complement the spaces, providing a counterpoint to the larger mineral areas.

 

Materiality and Structural System

 

A hybrid system is proposed for this project. It consists of a reinforced concrete shear core for circulation areas and stairs, with a timber frame structure of columns and beams providing flexibility for the other spaces. Internal partitions and facade elements are non-load-bearing and lightweight in construction.

 

The rationality and modularity of the project’s spaces promote modular construction and a high level of prefabrication, resulting in an optimal cost-effectiveness ratio and efficient planning and construction timelines.

 

The floors are made of wood-concrete composite elements. This system allows for long spans and off-site prefabrication. Visible timber elements in the underside of the floors also serve as acoustic ceilings.

 

The materiality concept is similarly reflected in the choice of finishes: the durability of exposed concrete is used in high-traffic areas such as stairs and circulation zones, contrasting with the warmth of wood in the classrooms, detailing, and facades.

 

The facades are designed as curtain walls, made up of prefabricated timber-framed elements. The exterior cladding of the facades consists of ventilated panels made from treated wood, framed by prefabricated concrete elements. This approach reflects the structure/infilling and concrete/wood dialectic present in both the framework and the interior finishes.

 

Sports Hall: Glulam beams span the hall and rhythmically define the load-bearing structure, which is also prominently visible on the facade. The walls in contact with the ground and the shear walls are made of concrete, continuing the interaction between concrete and wood throughout the project.

 

Sustainable Development. Energy.

 

The construction method and material choices place significant emphasis on renewable resources, durability, and system separation, particularly through the use of timber frame construction. Timber construction represents an environmentally friendly building method based on renewable building materials.

 

The buildings, with their compact and simply structured volumes, offer a high degree of durability and economic efficiency. Generous windows ensure effective use of daylight, and summer solar protection is provided by weather-resistant exterior louvered blinds. The exposed concrete slab in the classrooms offers sufficient thermal mass to mitigate overheating during the summer.

 

Ventilation is naturally introduced into the classrooms through mechanically operated window openings, with air being expelled through pressure relief vents placed in the central ceiling of the room. Additionally, the skylights in the circulation areas assist in nighttime cooling. This simple system has proven effective in the construction of school buildings and supports a low level of mechanization.

 

Photovoltaic panels are installed on the extensively green-roofed surfaces. The new building will also be connected to the local district heating network.