The Bois du Bohy school project is set within an exceptional site on the edge of a forest, where the landscape becomes a true educational actor. Espace Libre’s ambition was to design a “school-garden,” where architecture recedes in favor of vegetation and children grow in direct contact with nature.
From the earliest sketches, the preservation and enhancement of the site’s remarkable trees guided the project’s placement. These mature specimens, retained as identifying landmarks, provide shade, coolness, and landscape continuity to the outdoor spaces. The tree at the school entrance becomes a strong, symbolic, and educational marker.
The playgrounds are conceived as extensions of the landscape. The kindergarten courtyard, designed as a protective cloister, incorporates wooden terraces, natural play elements, and educational vegetable gardens. It offers the youngest children a safe environment that fosters imagination and sensory discovery. The elementary school courtyard, in contrast, opens onto the forest edge and unfolds across terraces adapted to the terrain, combining active play areas, shared gardens, and outdoor classrooms. A vegetable garden, an educational pond, and biodiversity observation areas allow children to experiment and understand natural cycles.
The project also integrates ecological water management, transforming water into a playful and educational resource through “rivers” crossing the courtyards and a pond that supports biodiversity. Green roofs, swales, and layered planting contribute to climate regulation, enhance user comfort, and enrich natural habitats.
