E16 Sites - Istres (FR)

"Les Heures claires – From one Utopia to Another"

SEE THE SITE PAGE HERE
See the map of the different sites here

Location Istres - Bouches- du-Rhône (13)
Scale L & S urban and architectural
Site Family Care - Dealing with New Uses
Commission after competition Urban and architectural feasibility study and/or architectural contract

How Must Metabolism and Inclusivity Be Developed and Connected?
Istres is a town in the recently created metropolitan area of Aix-Marseille-Provence (AMP); it was originally an old Provencal village looking down over the lagoon, Étang de Berre. […] The town wants to find a new use for the Educational and Cultural Centre (ECC)’s ‘Alain Savary’ secondary school, which is going to move elsewhere, to preserve its experimental and working-class character through a project of a ‘third place’, a collective place for learning. […] the ECC today needs to rekindle its utopian dimension and build on what is the force of the site –sharing and collaboration, education and creation– while also clarifying its position within contemporary transitions.

Aerial view of the study site in red and the project site in yellow