The building marks the entrance to a small village nestling in a valley in Alsace. A 14th-century castle dominates the site from the nearby hillside. The day nursery echoes the orthonormal geometry of the fortified castle. A perimeter wall with openings like on a castle wall protects the children’s playgrounds. This spatial arrangement offers views of the rounded outlines of the Vosges mountains. The principle of the strictly rectangular plan is an arrangement of successive crowns containing the elements of the project. These layers give depth to the project overall. The heart of the building is formed by a central space which emerges at double the height and plays with natural light like a kaleidoscope. This almost cubic volume condenses a host of faces ranging in colour from pink to red. The matte and shiny colours resonate, shaping the space to make it richer and more subtle.

The multiple transparencies installed between the different layers give an indication of the depth of the building. There is abundant natural light throughout, captured by skylights emerging from the overall volume. The building appears in the landscape like a fragmented monolith where the play of solids and hollows is reminiscent of something like a Lego model of a castle. The building is surrounded by sixty-eight apple trees which hark back to the local agricultural landscape.  

Project Name:
Nursery in Buhl, France

Client :
CC Région de Guebwiller

Architect :
Dominique Coulon & associés
Architectes : Dominique Coulon, David Romero-Uzeda, Olivier Nicollas
Architectes assistants : Javier Gigosos Ruipérez, Diego Bastos-Romero, Gautier Duthoit
Construction site supervision : David Romero-Uzeda

Engineers and consultants :
Structural Engineer : Batiserf
Electrical Engineer : BET G.Jost
Mechanical Plumbing Engineer : Solares Bauen
Cost Estimator : E3 économie
Acoustics : Euro sound project
Kitchen expert : Ecotral
Landscaping : Philippe Obliger

Program : Nursery, Day nursery and Nursery assistants relay for 40 children.

Address : 14 rue de la Fabrique, 68530, Buhl, France / Google maps location : 47.920970, 7.196955

Surface : 763m2

Budget : 1 700 000 €

Schedule :
Competition : march 2013
Construction documents : from may 2013 to november 2013
Construction works : from february 2014 to june 2015
Completion : june 2015

Construction companies :
Earthworks, sewerage networks and road works (S.T.P. MADER), concrete stucture (MADER), water proofing roofing (SMAC), exterior joinery (MENUISERIE VOLLMER ET FILS), metalworks(MULLER-ROST), exterior isolation (SOMREN), scaffolding (LOC’ECHAF), interior wood work and furniture (HUNSINGER), plastering (SOMEGYPS), concrete screed (MADER), tiled floors (MULTISOLS), glued floors (HERTZOG), painting (SOMREN), green areas (PARCS ET JARDINS B.WITTERSHEIM), electricity (VINCENTZ), heating and ventilation (MAISON XAVIER FRUH), plombing and drainage (LABEAUNE), kitchen (M.E.A.)

Photography : Eugeni Pons, David Romero-Uzeda