The Jury’s appraisal: The project arises from the need to maximize security at the entrance to the Lycée Francais Barcelone after the terrorist attacks perpetrated in Nice and in the Catalan capital itself. Given this important starting point, the built piece dissolves into a landscape intervention that blends with the existing trees and topography. The use of wood and stones in gabions softens the fences and access and befriends the pedestrians; at the same time, the painstakingly designed geometry makes a direct attack impossible and builds a maximum-security enclosure for the users.
The commission arose from the unfortunate at- tacks in Nice perpetrated by running people over. Reflecting this concern with security, Barcelona’s Lycée Français studied the reinforcement of the main accesses to their site jointly with technicians with expertise in security designated by the French government. The aim of the project was to combine the need for security with the day-to-day activities of a school in which more than 2,000 students are enrolled while maintaining the aesthetics of an architecture of pavilions and gardens. Because this is the access to the school, the reception and welcome point, it had to be an approachable and friendly place.
The challenge of the intervention lies in the need to install an architecture that modulates and filters the flow of people and transportation at the access to a densely built-up complex. This aim was achieved by creating several elements:
-The actual geometry of the pavilion, with access via a turnstile area.
-A mobile fenced-in area around the site’s perimeter.
-Installation of pylons in the vehicle access area.
This project succeeded in integrating a space with impenetrable security into an open setting without becoming a physical and visual barrier. Both the new constructions and the adjacent urbanized areas establish a dialogue with each other in a language of wood, stone and vegetation, which organically integrate into the existing setting.
The care taken with the details that define the architecture of the landscape, the planning of new shrub species, the attention paid to the existing trees and the redesign of the gardens were also essential in creating a natural and welcoming atmosphere. As regards the external faces, in the public side of the project an enclosure was created that integrates into the façades of the pavilions. People and vehicle accesses are thus integrated into an external enclosure line that displays breaks to allow for secure and monitored access spaces. This creates a warm and friendly atmosphere that distances itself from the unfortunate origins of this intervention.
