Architects:Stoa architectes

Area:3500m²

Year:2025

Photographs:Paola Corsini

Category:Educational Architecture,Schools,Extension

Lead Team:Pascal Deschenaux, Anne-Claire Gandor, Gala Urroz, Bertrand Moret

Design Team:Marie-Alix Berneron

Technical Team:Archibald Soguel, Célimène Stampbach

Office Lead Architects:Alain Brülisauer

Project Management:Pragma Partenaires

Engineering & Consulting > Civil:Schnetzer Puskas

Landscape Architecture:Paysagestion

Engineering & Consulting > Mep:Energys, b2 Gebäudetechnik

Engineering & Consulting > Electrical:Josef Piller

Engineering & Consulting > Environmental Sustainability:Grolimund + Partenaires

Engineering & Consulting > Other:Amstein + Walthert, Sutter Weidner, Supero

Engineering & Consulting > Lighting:Aebischer & Bovigny

City:Neuchâtel

Country:Switzerland

Text description provided by the architects. The school extension of the Collège des Parcs in Neuchâtel, a building with a contemporary expression, pays particular attention to the city's architectural tradition and heritage.

The building, to the rear of the existing historic school, is designed with a symmetrical plan that efficiently distributes the classrooms and the various spaces of school life. The colonnades, true loggias along the south façade, extend the playground and serve as outdoor activity areas. Accessible directly from the classrooms, these exterior spaces enrich the pupils' learning experience throughout the year.

The façade reinterprets the Heimatstil language of the old school building in order to ensure stylistic continuity with the neighbouring buildings. The choice of materials and colours guarantees integration into the urban context of Neuchâtel, while offering colourful, lively, and adaptable spaces.

On the southern part of the site, the Parcs sports hall integrates modern sports facilities while respecting the integrity of the former college building, listed and protected for its historical value.

Inserted discreetly into the plinth of the building, with no visible façade, the large sports building, housing two sports halls, recedes in order to preserve the historic character of the site while simultaneously densifying the city. A series of light wells created at the courtyard level brings natural light into the circulation spaces of the sports hall. This ingenious solution contributes both to the preservation of the heritage and to the quality of these underground spaces.

The multifunctional pavilion serves as a covered playground during breaks and as the main entrance to the sports facilities. It strengthens the link between school and sporting activities while also offering additional space for the schoolyard, which becomes an urban park outside teaching hours.

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