Last June, French agency archi5 (Laurent Boudrillet, Bernard Guillien, Anne Pezzoni, Jacques Sebbag) completed the Cité des Sciences et de la Nature Lavoisier in La Rochelle. This renovation of a 1970s building is part of the Urban Renewal Programme of the Villeneuve-les-Salines district, south-west of La Rochelle, close to the Tasdon marsh, a wetland area restored in 2021 at the city’s initiative. Partial demolition and external insulation of the existing building, use of wood and straw in the extensionand reduction of the building’s footprint by raising it on wooden piles… This project, led by an enlightened project owner, fits the objectives of the city, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 as part of the ‘La Rochelle Territoire Zéro Carbone’ project, launched in 2019.

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Cité de la Nature et des Sciences, Villeneuve-les-Salines, La Rochelle, 2024

Programme: Partial demolition, restructuring of the existing building and extension of the Lavoisier school into an educational centre focusing on the natural sciences, with a nursery school, an elementary school, a leisure centre and development of the site’s outdoor areas.
Client: City of La Rochelle
Architects: archi5
Partners: Puzzle (project management), R-use (re-use), Tipee (environment), Egis bâtiment Centre Ouest (structural, thermal, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, HQE, project economics, BIM, INFRA), Acoustb (acoustics)
Surface area: 4,457 m² (building), 5,500 m² (external works)
Completion: June 2024
Cost: €11,404,058 excluding VAT
Photographs: Sergio Grazia

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Discover more about archi5 in AA's special issue No.49 – « archi5, offbeat », available on our online shop.