Inauguration of a project by the Hiru agency

The architectural agency based in the Arkinova Activity Generator has carried out a renovation project on a school in Béarn, which came into use last June.

“We won a call for tenders in 2015, to project manage the renovation and reconstruction of a school in Béarn. Our proposal consisted of reconstructing the school building which contained three classrooms and a canteen area. We were inspired by the farm buildings typical of the Béarn area in designing this project” declared Antoine Pradier, founder of the Hiru agency along with Axelle Lieux and Emmanuel Liang.

After two years of work, the building, with a surface area of 576m², was opened at the end of June when pupils arrived for several days, but the school will come into service officially at the beginning of the 2017 Christmas term. “The school was designed to blend in with the village in a contemporary way, by reinterpreting the local architectural style. So, we worked with local materials such as slate and wood, and the building, like a Béarnais farm, encloses a courtyard which ensures privacy” explained Antoine Pradier.

Axelle Lieux, Emmanuel Liang and Antoine Pradier created their agency on the Basque coast at the beginning of 2015, and then in December 2016 moved to the Arkinova Activity Generator. The reconstruction of this Béarn school is one of the first achievements of this new agency which considers it essential “to adopt the architectural style of the area where their projects are based and to build into these projects the requirements of sustainable construction. “

Website:http://www.hiru.fr/