Designed by Alain Ritter, Collège Rousseau is an elegant example of brutalism. The quadrilateral building with a courtyard at its centre is a masterclass in balance, proportion and materiality. Around its glazed podium, a series of post-and-beam ribs until recently held up two stories of classroom spaces. Now, a third tier tops the 21,850-square-metre building — thanks to an almost imperceptible addition by Basel firm .
The vertical extension accommodates the high school’s growing student body, while its refurbishment was a necessity as the building had undergone decades of wear and tear. The two lower levels — the “basement stories” — house the administrative offices and amenities, like a newly added cafeteria that opens out to the central courtyard, a double-height library, an auditorium and, in a separate underground volume, a sports hall; on the floors above, the classrooms are similarly ringed around the outdoor space.
The architects at Burckhardt used BIM modeling, even though the competition (which they won in 2018) didn’t require it, to create a precise model of the existing building. According to the project press release, this process “involved the creation of a point cloud, a kind of 3D scan, which was supplemented by a digital 180° photographic survey with the Matterport tool.” This full picture allowed them to painstakingly refurbish the building — with its spectacular waffle ceilings, terrazzo floors and visually seamless connections between indoors and out — while crowning it with a third layer that allows it to evolve and survive well into the future.
Their third-floor addition is a timber framework of structure, floor and roof, the volume clad in a “striking relief of finished concrete components” that mimic the original facade. “The new storey’s floor plan is the same,” the press release explains, “but the feeling of space is entirely different: The ceiling height is more generous and the timber structure is deliberately exposed.” The rooms contained within are bathed in natural light by two large skylights.
The renovation and expansion also meet the energy-efficiency requirements of the Minergie and Very High Energy Performance (THPE) standards. By extending the building vertically, rather than horizontally, the firm avoided more of the ground being sealed. The timber addition is also lightweight, which means it required minimal reinforcement.
Collège Rousseau’s expansion is a sensitive one, yet it’s also, in a way, radical. By raising the height of the building while preserving its outward appearance, the architects have engaged in an architectural sleight of hand that belies the extraordinary nature of their intervention. A brutalist gem is preserved here, and also enhanced manifold.
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