gymnasium - la tourelle school, sarcelles, france
photo © p. ruault
image courtesy ecdm architects

located 16 kilometers from paris, sarcelles is part of the 'banlieue' that quickly
accommodated immigrants who arrived at the end of the 50s. with a current population
close to 60,000, sarcelles consist of a small old core and a huge expansion to the south
known as le grand ensemble and conceived in 1965 by jacques henri-labourdette,
it is currently undergoing an ambitious urban renewal operation. this is the context
behind the project by ecdm architects which created cover and access for disabled people
in a multi-sport court of the secondary school of la tourelle.

for the architects more than building a roof, the idea was to extract the practice of sport
from a school context, where the dimensions imposed by regulations were not possible,
for which reason there could only be a beginners’ court.


gymnasium - la tourelle school, sarcelles, france
photo © p. ruault
image courtesy ecdm architects




concept based on glasses
image courtesy ecdm architects


gymnasium - la tourelle school, sarcelles, france
photo © p. ruault
image courtesy ecdm architects

the structure of laminated wood is diffused within a tube covered with a translucent material
that distributes the light homogeneously and does not create strong contrasts with the wood.
add to this, the graphics of the ground and a double grille at the ends, tensed in accordance
with models of curves and counter-curves that turned them into two enormous pairs of glasses.
the collaborative work with the client (malik mouhoud, project manager of the region ile de france)
has led to reformulate the image of sport in a school.


gymnasium - la tourelle school, sarcelles, france
photo © p. ruault
image courtesy ecdm architects



gymnasium - la tourelle school
image courtesy ecdm architects


gymnasium - plan of beginners court
image courtesy ecdm architects

general info
program: coverage of a sports field
client: région ile de france
project manager: ecdm
business: plumbness, everlite, XR systems, tennis and soils
location: sarcelles
size: 1 000m ²
photographer: p. ruault
completed: november 2005