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Built:
1997- 2000
Designed by: Sophie Berthelier Philippe Fichet and Benoit Tribouillet (BFT Architectes)
Type: Educational Facility
Location: 2 Avenue Béthouart
City: Chartres
State: Centre
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T
o many a church afficionado, the Chartres Cathedral is among the greatest works of man in France. A stones throw away, students learning about the cathedral have a pretty good architectural wonder of their own. Notre Dame High School (Lycée Notre Dame) takes the standard square pastel forms common in schools from the 1950's through the 1980's, and updates it. On the plus side, the designers made extensive use of glass helps open up the building to natural light. But some of the semi-attached trellises that echo the building's main form seem more confining than freeing. Don't be surprised to see students compare certain sections of the building to a jail. They shouldn't ungrateful, though. They may not realize that they have been treated to an architectural style that is quickly emerging as the signature method of the post-post-modern world as exemplified through the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C. (The designers call it neo-modernist.) Fortunately, the new style of architecture takes into consideration not only economic and geographic possibilities when planning a site, but also environmental. The plot has been laid out keeping things like other buildings, the cathedral, and even a row of nearby trees in mind. As an example, the blue color used in the main building is intended to work in harmony with the blue in the cathedral windows. An no longer do the students conform to the rigid grids of orderly design. Rather, the buildings and designs are moved to accommodate the natural flow of people. In another people-friendly move, the side of the building that faces the cathedral is faced in glass, which allows those in classrooms, offices, and hallways to see the famed building while at the same time allowing the cathedral the courtesy of looking back into its new neighbor.
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