In the skin of the Simone Veil School in Villeurbanne

Designed in 2023 by the architectural firm Rougerie+Tangram in collaboration with architect Amelia Tavella and artist Pauline Guerrier, the Simone Veil school in Villeurbanne, France, is unique in that it incorporates a genuine work of art into its exterior walls, lending great originality to its red brick facades.

The lifeline of an organic architecture

The bricks that cover the entire building form a second skin, sometimes opaque, sometimes translucent, thanks to cubic terracotta modules that act as sunshades and mashrabiya screens.

Time passes, nothing fades away

Artist Pauline Guerrier designed a highly organic façade, inspired by the lifelines on the hand.
These lines never fade, echoing a famous quote by Simone Veil about the Holocaust:
“Nothing can be erased: the convoys, the labor, the confinement, the barracks, the disease, the cold, the lack of sleep, the hunger, the humiliation, the degradation, the beatings, the screams… nothing can or should be forgotten.”

His experiments in the field, during residencies abroad, such as in Benin, provided him with the inspiration and expertise to create his largest sculpture.

His collaboration with Mediterranean architect Amelia Tavella gave rise to this unique architectural work, imbued with powerful symbolism, capable of both paying tribute to the life of Simone Veil and inspiring the children who live there.

This second-skin principle with organic patterns is reminiscent of Rudi Ricciotti’s veil for the Mucem (with whom Amelia Tavella is collaborating for the conservatory of music, dance, and dramatic arts in Ajaccio).

The skin of the street-facing facades

This imposing brick wall helps to isolate the school from the noise of the surrounding streets, even though most of the classrooms face the inner courtyard.

The relief patterns bring the three main facades to life throughout the day in designated areas designed to accommodate specially molded bricks with sharp shapes.

The skin of the courtyard facades

Long and narrow, half plant and half mineral, the courtyard of the Simone Veil school is bordered by the four different brick modules that clad the building.

The alternation of square shapes of varying sizes adds variety to the facades and gives them a playful touch.

The pores of the terracotta second skin allow soft light to enter the classrooms.

Thierry Allard
^{Photographe de France et de Navarre.}

During Architecture Days, which takes place every year in France, I had the opportunity to photograph associate architect Amelia Tavella, who was accompanied by artist Pauline Guerrier to present the Simone Veil school.