The building, which looks compact when seen from the outside, houses a dynamic system within: here the architects have designed a rich and varied visual apparatus, which respects the requirements and the particular necessities for the implementation of each activity. With regard to the three structures, the architects have designed a very simple system of signs that will guide the users to the main zones of activity: the directions are shown on large coloured panels, with different colours for each zone.

The choice of colour has been made to match the materials used in the floor of the area concerned: resin (for the corridors and common parts), PVC floors (for the gym, offices and multi-purpose halls) and parquet (for the music and dance rooms). The emphasis is on simple materials destined for intense use and which are efficient in terms of comfort and acoustics.

The Sports Center

Due to the limits and constrictions imposed on the lot’s area for construction, the architects chose to locate the gym at the edge of the adjacent lot (occupied by a recycling centre, currently under construction), with a blind facade facing north. Thus the Sports Centre occupies the northern part of the lot, with a façade towards the east over rue Paul-Meurice where the entrance is located and a western facade looking towards the Périphérique.

The entrance hall is in transparent glass, and stands as a permeable diaphragm between the public space and the sports hall; the flows of people organise themselves from this large luminous space: closed stairs lead down to the gym in the basement and the changing rooms, which act as a filter between the common parts, the gym and the service rooms; at the back of the ground floor is the access to the climbing wall and the changing rooms; a second, open, staircase leads to the first floor where the multi-purpose rooms and external sports areas can be found.

The gym is at the heart of the project: with its large empty volume it creates a link between the sports grounds and the slab garden and the large entrance hall and climbing wall, which open with vast glass walls onto the gym. Its underground location is essential for the general organisation of the project.

The climbing wall, organized for use at every level, is double height, reaching 9 metres high. It opens onto rue Paul-Meurice and is visible from the common parts on the first floor and connected to the gym. It receives natural light from street level and by a glass wall placed high up, so as to create the sensation of a lift towards the sky.

The Youth Space

The Youth Space is located on the corner of rue Paul-Meurice and rue Léon-Frapié, on the ground floor. Access is gained through a second patio, situated on rue Léon-Frapié. The hall is designed to be a space for shared living, hence it is placed at the centre of the two poles within the lot: the area for music, with three music rooms that are visible from the street, and the activity area with two multi-purpose rooms. The rest of the structure is devoted to management offices and staff areas.

The Centre for Psycho-Pedagogical Learning

The Centre for psycho-pedagogical learning is designed to welcome children and adolescents and is located on the corner of rue Paul-Meurice and rue Léon-Frapié, on the first floor. An open stairway with zenithal lighting leads to the waiting room, decorated as a convivial space, from which the kids can make their way to the re-education rooms and the two psychomotor learning rooms, situated in the western part of the building and looking onto the green spaces above the Périphérique.

The architects have consolidated the “building mass” and freed up space on the slab covering the Périphérique and between the buildings. The guiding principle from a morphological point of view is that of a compact system: the Sports Centre, Youth Space and Centre of Psycho-Pedagogical Learning are all pure volumes.

The Sports Centre is located partly underground in order to limit the exposed area and maximize inactivity. To mitigate the density of building, they have created green areas, constituting breathing spaces. Despite the limited space available due to the numerous restrictions on the lot, the various elements have been successfully located so as to exploit the daylight and natural ventilation as much as possible. In the same manner, great care was taken when spacing the buildings one from another so as to guarantee the maximum amount of light and vegetation between them.