Moulins Secondary School
A 500-student secondary school open to the city, a 100-bed boarding school, a disabled sports complex and a cultural centre
The Moulins secondary school in Lille is a building-landscape that radiates and interacts with its environment: carried by the context and in close connection with the city, its geography unfolds in a ring around a central courtyard facing south. Two parts stand out: the ground floor, which is animated for pedestrians and plays with transparency while delimiting the facility's footprint; the upper part, treated as a topography that makes it possible to identify the three fundamental elements of the programme: the secondary school, the sports hall and the boarding school. This whole complex is unified by a single skin of pre-weathered zinc.
![Moulins Secondary School college-moulins-lille-22](http://chartier-dalix.com/media/pages/projets/college-moulins-complexe-handisport-pole-culturel-lille-59/2fd5b014d5-1657550673/college-moulins-lille-22.jpg)
Located in a district still undergoing regeneration composed of brick buildings for freight and manufacturing, the school complex occupies a corner plot facing the raised metro line. Its position invites multiple readings and perceptions from the different dimensions of the urban space.
![Moulins Secondary School college-moulins-lille-14](http://chartier-dalix.com/media/pages/projets/college-moulins-complexe-handisport-pole-culturel-lille-59/ed8fb9dcae-1657550677/college-moulins-lille-14-1428x2000.jpg)
![Moulins Secondary School college-moulins-lille-30](http://chartier-dalix.com/media/pages/projets/college-moulins-complexe-handisport-pole-culturel-lille-59/dcb0d58d36-1657550672/college-moulins-lille-30.jpg)
![Moulins Secondary School college-moulins-lille-13](http://chartier-dalix.com/media/pages/projets/college-moulins-complexe-handisport-pole-culturel-lille-59/5dc91a233c-1657550675/college-moulins-lille-13.jpg)
A first approach corresponds to a rather furtive view, seen from the aerial metro, or from the neighbouring buildings. The whole is treated as a continuous development, playing with the volumetry and the masses of the programmes. This geography is unified by a flexible skin of pre-patinated zinc that hugs the shapes of each volume while signifying the presence of an emblematic public facility.
![Moulins Secondary School college-moulins-lille-24](http://chartier-dalix.com/media/pages/projets/college-moulins-complexe-handisport-pole-culturel-lille-59/0f57418df2-1657550672/college-moulins-lille-24-1428x2000.jpg)
![Moulins Secondary School college-moulins-lille-11](http://chartier-dalix.com/media/pages/projets/college-moulins-complexe-handisport-pole-culturel-lille-59/73e2e818fc-1657550674/college-moulins-lille-11.jpg)
![Moulins Secondary School college-moulins-lille-18](http://chartier-dalix.com/media/pages/projets/college-moulins-complexe-handisport-pole-culturel-lille-59/01a907459d-1657550672/college-moulins-lille-18.jpg)
A second, more local approach is that of the relationship between the neighbourhood and the facility: it refers to the pedestrian's gaze. The porous ground floor is treated with transparency, offering views into the depth of the whole plot from the street.
![Moulins Secondary School college-moulins-lille-25](http://chartier-dalix.com/media/pages/projets/college-moulins-complexe-handisport-pole-culturel-lille-59/8983a9b5d1-1657550671/college-moulins-lille-25-1428x2000.jpg)
![Moulins Secondary School college-moulins-lille-04](http://chartier-dalix.com/media/pages/projets/college-moulins-complexe-handisport-pole-culturel-lille-59/75aa20f827-1657550674/college-moulins-lille-04.jpg)
![Moulins Secondary School college-moulins-lille-31](http://chartier-dalix.com/media/pages/projets/college-moulins-complexe-handisport-pole-culturel-lille-59/668384525d-1657550671/college-moulins-lille-31.jpg)
Lille (59)
Conseil Général du Nord and the city of Lille
13,853 m²
Hdm engineering (HVACS, structure), Act environnement (Hqe), Becquart (costing), Flandres analyses (acoustics), Kvds (landscape), Studio Joran Briand (designer)
Avant Propos Architectes
€21 M before tax
Delivery 2015
Sébastien Chevance
Complete
Secondary school for 500 pupils, 50 bed boarding unit, parasport complex with type C sports hall and cultural centre (dance studio, concert hall…)
School Hqe certified by Certivea, 3 targets VG and 6 targets G, Sports complex Hqe process
Takuji Shimmura
Archi Zinc Award 2016