How do you build a crèche on a plot that’s too small? Obviously high up, but a crèche is horizontal by nature. However, there was another reason for building high up: the desire to avoid the ‘hollow tooth’ phenomenon that occurs when buildings are built between 2 tall buildings, a common situation for school buildings in Paris.
Client: Ville de Paris et RIVP
Programme: Public nursery with 60 places.
Surface area: 1 000 m²
Budget: 1.5 M€ + VAT
We therefore occupied almost the entire site, with the crèche itself operating on 2 levels, and we sought to build the street with 2 additional levels: the staff services and the staff flat.
Having studied the crèche in this way, the tricky problem, the real architectural problem, is that of light, the penetration and proportioning of light in an area largely bordered by adjoining buildings.
With a geometry that develops on the diagonal, the aim was to eliminate the visual barriers between the old and new buildings, and to open up the plot in order to optimise lighting conditions.
The gap extending from the entrance splits the nursery in two. This gap provides obvious access to the building, natural lighting at its heart and an exit to the garden.
The geometry chosen for the organisation of the crèche ensures that the building receives the maximum amount of sunlight, with all the children’s living rooms facing south/south-east.
From this gap, from the courtyards and patios, and from the façades, light is tracked down by every means possible: floor recesses, interior windows and transparencies, walks along the gap, perspectives, etc.
The street façade reflects this concern. Large windows, set into the black, off-white porcelain facade, reveal the circulation spaces in the manner of a cross-section and organise the penetration of light in a variety of ways.
