Nantes Saint-Nazaire school of fine art

The new School of Fine Arts occupies the site of the former Saint-Nazaire rail station. The original building consisted of an ensemble of two disparate volumes: a neoclassical partition of the old station – damaged during World War II – and an addition built in 1960 and transformed over the years to serve as a tertiary building. Our design approach focuses on the revival of this historic site, and aims to reinforce its potential through maximum preservation of its existing fabric.
The new conversion project involves a balanced recomposition of the interior volumes, which focuses on how to make people and programmes coalesce. The old warehouse has been restored and features a glass façade with integrated window openings, framing staged spaces that reveal the activity within. This new “wing” of the school – a clear geometric volume – is defined by an open-plan-studio layout that creates an interactive environment for the students. The old station, housing diverse activities and functions of the art school, has been highlighted through a sober and elegant treatment of the historic façades, with which the large existing arches have been revealed without intermediate overlap. To create a strong reference to these historic arcades, we have translated their notion to the interior environment. This has allowed us to form a sequence of flexible distinct workspaces and seating arrangements tailored to the needs of the new school. Here, the generous spaces will host events and changing exhibition forming a new point of arrival for students and visitors – a space dedicated to the arts and the general public, and a new art venue for the city.
The spacious openings induce a flowing transition between inside and outside, allowing them to relate directly to the public plaza and the adjacent theatre, and defining a building ensemble to be used for and filled with art and culture.
An important aspect of the concept is to create not just a monofunctional building, but to explore the potential that such public mixed-use projects can reveal – to contribute to a richer animated urban life and create a true cultural place for the city.