Colorful Chaos in the Suburbs
Title shot: Eugeni Pons
This article was first published in the colore, ed. 18 #himbeerrot
A school complex in different shades of red, enabling free thinking and learning, with space for personal development: This school building in Colombes offers a great deal in just a small space. Concrete and wood contrast with an expressive color scheme and the sharp angles that are all signature features of architectural firm Dominique Coulon & Associés.
Gray, raspberry as well as orange red – and an unobstructed view of the blue sky create a surprising environment that makes a new impression on both teachers and students time and again. The effects of light and shading multiply color shades' nuances – all in addition to the different moods developing depending on the season and weather.
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Photo: Eugeni Pons
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Photo: Eugeni Pons
The architecture of the Simone Veil school complex avoids any form of repetition. The interplay of light, materials and paths around the complex creates new micro-events. All these aspects come together in a cheerfully designed chaos.
Photograph: David Romero-Uzeda
The paint unleashes its fully effect, be it in sports facilities, patios and hallways: illuminating, enhancing, stimulating. Take physical exercise to the extreme here, compete and fight for points, this facility provides a dedicated framework for a host of activities. Changes in material and color automatically create zones as part of a simple process.
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Photo: Eugeni Pons
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Photo: Eugeni Pons
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Photo: Guillaume Wittmann
The charm that comes from color and space: raspberry and orange-red, raw wood and shiny glass – the Simone Veil school complex in Colombes, France, feels a little like an adventure playground, a pirate ship... a random design?
That couldn't be further from the truth. The bold form and strong colors have been chosen deliberately, with calculation, taking into account the location. The building's colorfulness and texture creates a stimulating environment for pre-school and school children alike.
The strong colors work together, and depending on the day's light, shape the rooms, making them appear varying and more subtle at the same time. Rustic, roughly-sawn wood and sweeping cantilevers combine with veritably bubbling colors to create an expression of joy, contrasting to the dreariness of the surroundings.
Photo: Eugeni Pons
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Photo: Eugeni Pons
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Photo: David Romero-Uzeda
The compact, almost square plot provides the space for a pre-school and an elementary school with separate lobbies – for a total of 500 children between the ages of 3 and 11. The facility is supplemented by outdoor playgrounds and space for an extra-curricular study center as well as an independent gym. Put it all together and you have an "ecological village" at the heart of the industrial town of Colombes outside Paris.
The facility – established in 2015 – has been closely knit into the dense cityscape to form a strong, structural element within the urban environment. The building comprises of three levels featuring classrooms, a sports facility, canteen, library and extra-curricular childcare facilities. Niches in the facade have been painted in strong colors to reflect the light and thus guarantee a visual change of scenery in conjunction with the unconventionally designed traffic arrangements. Several patios let plenty of natural light into the facility.
Theses on Dominique Coulon's work
Dominique Coulon, born in 1961, completed his studies in 1989 and in the very same year, opened his own architectural firm. Over the following years, he won numerous architectural prizes and has been nominated for many more. His work puts a special emphasis on sustainable development and respecting historical contexts. Alongside his work as an architect, Dominique Coulon teaches at the Ecole d'Architecture de Strasbourg, where he founded the Master's Program in "Architektur und Komplexität" (Architecture and Complexity). Today, he works at the firm of Dominique Coulon & Associés in Strasbourg with Olivier Nicollas, Steve Letho Duclos and Benjamin Rocchi.
- Procedure: The procedure is intuitive, and very much depends on the location. There are two types of project: At a neutral location, the internal architecture forms a protective housing – but at a strong, distinctive location, architecture is created that enters into a dialog with that environment. Ideally, we as architects are not tied to just one method, but instead approach the topic in a variety of ways – with the aim of ensuring that we are always thinking of new ways of approaching use and space.
- Color: Color, combined with volume, makes it possible to deconstruct the space and open up new experiences and perspectives to the user. This means that each visitor experiences the space in a unique way as they move through the building.
- Philosophy: The first glimpse of a building shouldn't give away too much – instead, it should surprise the visitor, allowing him or her to savor that moment of discovery, creating spaces that promise unexpected pleasure with different angles and perspectives.
- Material: It's great to experiment with new materials – a focus here is always on creating both visual as well as physical sensations.
- Sustainability: Sustainability is extremely important. The new school complexes in Colombes and Montpellier generate more energy than they consume. The Colombes building is part of an eco-village where untreated wood was used.
