French firms NBJ and Francois Privat architects transformed an unattractive building from the 1960’s into a beautiful modern teaching facility that combines raw concrete, wood and metal. It is the last in a sequence of buildings planned for renovation at the Albert Einstein High School campus. The brutalist design approach recognizable in the use of concrete and wood, along with massing, is softened with bright colors and aluminum shades.
The project was realized as a collaboration between architecture agency NBJ (Elodie Nourrigat/Jacques Brion/Romain Jamot) and Francois Privat architects. The site, dominated by large, linear buildings from the 1960’s, was renovated to fit the spatial requirements of a modern-day school, while preserving green space in the school’s northwest corner.
The new building will house teaching rooms and a restaurant. Particular attention was paid to the treatment of vegetation and the balance between built space and natural surroundings, with several meeting places organized around a green area.
The building’s envelope features alternating aluminum and lacquered panel shades, colored differently to provide a visual contrast to the concrete shell. It was completed in November 2012.
