La Courneuve School

The Josephine Baker School in La Courneuve, just outside Paris, is the latest addition to a new urban development aimed at replacing 1960s’ housing blocks in the area. Designed by Dominique Coulon et Associés, the 6500-sq-m complex includes a nursery, primary school, leisure centre, classrooms, auditorium, restaurant, office and play areas. A series of stark, white buildings – which can be reached from a triangular central courtyard surrounded by playgrounds and sports facilities – is offset by accents of bold orange, the various shades of which appear to shift from yellow to red throughout the day, depending on the position of the sun. According to the architects, the colour works well with the blue or grey of the Parisian sky.