Anatole France Primary School
The old Anatole France school complex, located in a dense residential area in the French community of Sarcelles, was demolished and completely rebuilt. The new buildings, designed by the architect Jean-Pierre Lott in collaboration with the staff, impress with their bright, elegantly curved lightweight concrete facade.
The 540 pupils of Anatole France Primary School have all moved into their new facilities. After the kindergarten children in autumn 2015, the primary school children started in their new school in spring 2017. The school comprises a total of 18 classes, divided into two buildings with two and three levels, which are connected by a gallery. The project was designed and implemented with the well-being of children and teachers in mind. The floor plan was designed according to the sun's incidence and horizontal shades were integrated into the southward front for a better protection of the classrooms.
Large terraces supported by up to 8 metre high pillars and the curved shape of the reinforced concrete walls complete the building. Walls and pillars obtain their bright beige colour from the i.design ULTRACEM cement of HeidelbergCement's subsidiary Ciments Calcia. "For the construction we decided on the self-compacting concrete i.design ISYTECVOIL", emphasises Karim Diab from HeidelbergCement's subsidiary Unibéton. "Thanks to its high viscosity, we were able to achieve a perfect uniform result, without bubbles, very aesthetic and very clean". As requested by the architect, the concrete was left untreated, protected only by a waterproof coating, to prevent it from getting contaminated too easily in this highly urban area.
Another criteria for choosing the self-compacting i.design ISYTECVOIL concrete is its non-vibrating processing, which made it possible to reduce noise exposure for local residents and especially for the pupils who were accommodated in prefabricated houses during the construction work. "With the aim of meeting the very demanding environmental standards of this HQE (Haute Qualité Environnementale) building, trucks and concrete pumps were never flushed on site during construction," explains Karim Diab, "after each concreting operation they were returned to the Unibéton Sarcelles headquarters for cleaning".
