Public Buildings

Passive House School

Rumilly, France

The new school complex 1 | The new school complex
The school is exemplary for its low carbon footprint, use of local wood, and minimal energy consumption, all while offering its users an attractive experience.
Design: The new building for 600 students is the result of a competition, consisting of the school building itself, a gym, and a bus stop. All companies involved in the construction process committed in writing to reduce the impact of noise and other emissions during the construction.

Wood: The pragmatic design approach included the use of wood for loadbearing purposes wherever such a solution is viable. For this reason, concrete was used for parts of the ground level. A timber frame construction was employed for the classrooms, the library, and the multipurpose hall, as well as for the schoolyard roofing. The school is the first example for the cooperation between Bois des Alpes™ and the associative initiative Bois Qualité Savoie, which was founded by members of the regional wood industry. The sawmills, as part of said initiative, obtained the wood from within 100 kilometers, and the manufacturer of the cross-laminated timber is a local company.

Energy: The building owners aimed to reduce the ecological footprint through the reduction of gray energy. For this reason and among other measures, recycled material (cotton and textile fabrics) and local wood was used for the insulation and the construction respectively.
Roofed schoolyard 2 | Roofed schoolyard
Connecting corridor 3 | Connecting corridor
Connecting corridor 4 | Connecting corridor
Classroom 5 | Classroom
15m
Basic information
Year of Completion |  2018
Investor |  Conseil Departemental de Haute-Savoie, Annecy (FR)
Architecture |  AER ARCHITECTES, Annecy (FR); architecte associé ADELA Architecte, Rumilly (FR)
Construction Time |  18 months
Number of floors |  3
Plot size |  29,437 m²
Gross floor area |  9,580 m² (school 6,680 m², gym 2,700 m²)
Construction Costs (netto) |  1 377 €/m²
Photography |  Pictures 1-5: AER Architectes – Stéphane Legret & Rhizome Studio (FR)

Technical aspects
Concept |  Loadbearing wood frame walls, wood-concrete composite elements for ceilings
Woodworking |  GROUPEMENT LP CHARPENTE NICODEX / Eurolamelle Scierie Blanc, Scierie Eymard, LP Charpente (FR)
Origin of Timber, Certification |  PEFC, Bois des Alpes™ wood from France (FR)
Traceability of Timber |  Yes, the use of Bois des Alpes™-certified wood guarantees the traceability of the wood
Forestry Value Chain |  Only local companies commissioned (sawmill, wood construction company), all companies were named
Energy Efficiency Standard |  Passive house (RT 2012 – 20% – BATIMENT PASSIF); Qualité Environnementale des Bâtiments (QEB)
Energy Systems |  Heating network for school and gym using a wood pellets system; dual flow ventilation
Energy Consumption  |  12.8 kWh/m²a (heating energy demand for the school)
U-Value Wall | Roof | Floor | Windows (W/(m²K)) |  0.15-0.19 | 0.1-0.15 | 0.17-0.25 | 1.3-1.6


Circular Economy Cost Saving Energy Efficiency


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