Planted rooftop terraces cascade down stepped school in Paris by Tectoniques

French architecture studio Tectoniques has completed the Dominique Frelaut School in Paris, wrapping a central courtyard with a series of stepped volumes topped by green terraces.

Located in the suburban commune of Colombes, the five-storey, 5,180-square-metre school occupies a former industrial site and provides 25 classrooms alongside a clubroom and a canteen on the top floor with panoramic views over Paris.

Looking to maximise outdoor space, Tectoniques created what it described as a "vertical school", with a tall, narrow U-shaped plan hugging a central green courtyard.

The five storeys of classrooms within each wing step backwards as they rise, topped by planted terraces that are connected by steel and concrete staircases that "cascade" all the way down to the entrance gate.

The central playground is partially sheltered by a first-floor walkway perched on concrete columns that links the school's two wings and was designed to double as a "teaching garden", with long, narrow planters.

"Presenting a clear and easily recognisable form, at once monumental and familiar, the building coils around the playground like a protective enclosure," said the studio.

"Its staggered upper floors and varied pathways create a close relationship between the architecture and the landscape," it continued. "Exterior staircases cascade down to the courtyard, linking all the terrace levels and offering an open-air path with multiple panoramic city views."

Facing the street, the school's outer facade is more enclosed, clad in alternating vertical strips of flat and convex pale ceramic tiles that were informed by the work of Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.

Large windows with narrow metal planters at their bases bring daylight into perimeter corridors connecting the classrooms, which were oriented to overlook the central courtyard through windows sheltered by metal grille awnings.

In each corner of the U-shaped plan, two helical staircases have been housed within cylindrical concrete cores. These are punctured with porthole windows on each level that draw in light from the courtyard, which is reflected by a mirrored disk on the ceiling.

Inside, the timber and earthen brick structure of the school has been left exposed. It was left in a more raw state for the circulation areas and softened with white-painted walls and built-in timber storage in the classrooms.

This was part of a strategy by Tectoniques to allow pupils to "grasp how the building was constructed and how it functions", which also included leaving ducting, pipework and electrical conduits exposed.

"The brick brings character to the spaces whilst also contributing to optimise inertia and hygrometry. The built-in furnishings, designed and produced with poplar plywood, soften the brutalism of some equipment and service features," said the studio.

"In furtherance of this goal, the structure and utility networks remain exposed for learning purposes," it added.

Tectoniques has previously created a similarly stepped form topped by green terraces for a home in Saint-Cyr-au-Mont-d'Or, made using rough, sandy-coloured concrete that was poured in layers.

Elsewhere, Le Penhuel & Associés recently used "warm and welcoming" biomaterials to create the 2,400-square-metre Groupe Scolaire Simone Veil in the suburbs of Paris.

The photography is by Salem Mostefaoui unless stated otherwise.

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