In September 2022, 1 750 students and 400 teachers
from L'École de design Nantes Atlantique returned to school in 2022 in an
11,600 m2 setting, located on the Ile de Nantes, in the heart of the district
dedicated to creation. Previously spread over different sites all around the
metropolis, they now have a dedicated campus to develop their creativity.
The body of the building is distinguished from the
neighboring blocks by the softness of its curves and, it gives the sensation of
levitating above the public space. This work is on five levels integrating
classrooms, offices, studios and Design Labs, thematic laboratories for
teaching, research, and innovation. It is overlooked by a terrace that offers
stunning views of the island.
"What is strong about
this project is that it touches us intimately, we immediately put ourselves in
the shoes of young designers, we imagined ourselves when we arrived at our
design school. How this place, this school, by its design will embody an
element of pedagogy.
You are young, you are just
starting your journey, you may not yet know the history of architecture or
design, but the very place of your training, is an element of discovery,
learning. These elements that you encounter every day are integrated into your
imagination, quite naturally, you acquire notions, ways of conceiving, which
will serve you for your own work.
A place of exchange, a place of
life, a place of demonstration, this is how the Agora was conceived, which has
become the living heart of the school."
Patrick Jouin
Open to the city thanks to its translucent
facades, the entire building is structured around an agora, a central and
modular space that is transformed into an amphitheater as well as an exhibition
space or a shared workspace to facilitate meetings and the unexpected
encounters.
This architectural gesture draws a school
connected with the world: a place of learning through the eyes, the body, and
sensations. The opportunity to unite all sensibilities in order to imagine and
build the world of tomorrow.