School of Music, Dance and Theater

To assert itself within the "in-between" landscape of the city entrance, the project adopts a simple geometric figure that reestablishes calm and legible relationships with its immediate surroundings. The school is centered around a luminous patio that fosters openness and creativity. Here, the immediate context recedes, leaving only the silhouette of the surrounding mountain ridges cutting into the sky. The project recenters and condenses its program within, while opening outward toward the spectacle of the alpine landscape. Its timber structure and zinc roof echo the context, blending sustainability with expressiveness.

Designed as a pedagogical tool for learning, practice, and artistic dissemination, the school is arranged entirely on one level to encourage fluid circulation between programmatic entities and foster encounters that stimulate creative synergy. The various functional units are organized in a ring around a central patio. From the circulation areas, views extend across the courtyard, making the different parts of the school visually and spatially connected. This patio enhances internal movement and offers an additional outdoor space, sheltered within the school’s perimeter, usable during the day or for public performances. Both introverted and extroverted, the floor plan establishes a hierarchy of relationships with the landscape: the primary spaces — auditorium, orchestra hall, and central patio — occupy the heart of the building and open toward the peaks, while the peripheral ring — practice rooms, lobby, technical spaces — connects daily uses to the immediate environment. Inside and out, perspectives intersect, and the different practices are revealed.

The building stands out while resonating with the alpine landscape. A wooden base anchors it in vegetation, while a folded zinc roof mirrors mountain ridges. Its tones and geometry create harmony with nature, and a generous porch welcomes the public, embodying openness and community spirit. With the exception of a few structural concrete walls and foundational elements, the entire building is constructed in timber — a locally sourced material selected under the shared commitment of both the project team and the client to use "Bois des Alpes" certified wood, ensuring regional origin and quality of supply. The project also embraces sustainable energy strategies by integrating a geothermal heat pump system, using six deep boreholes to meet the building’s energy needs — ensuring both environmental responsibility and high performance.