Concrete abstraction

written by Bernard Zurbuchen
architects Denis Wœffray and Geneviève Bonnard 

 

Salvan school, designed by Bonnard Wœffray Architectes, poses the question which is at the heart of any architectural project: how does one achieve integration in a setting that is both historical and morphological, as well as sociological? It goes without saying that projects always relate, one way or another, to a pre-existing context: much like adding a new piece to a patchwork, they contribute to that giant fabric that is the city, or rather the world – and that is where the architect’s decisions take on meaning, along with a quasi-political engagement that is destined to modify the patchwork to an extent that is almost irreversible.