Arte Charpentier Architectes designed a state-of-the-art facility for training at Ducasse School giving excellence and beauty to their campus in Paris, France.

The major new training center of 5 000 m², dedicated to the transmission and promotion of French gastronomic expertise, is located in the outlying district of Meudon-la-Fôret, 10km to the south-west of Paris, in an area of huge potential for the Greater Paris region.

Situated on the edge of Meudon forest, the building is inspired by the presence of nature.

The building mass is subdivided into 4 separate entities representing the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air, with a strong physical and metaphorical link to the act of eating, and which are reunited around a central space, the fifth element or “void”.

The workshops and kitchens are gradually revealed, by means of openings and see-through panels allowing an understanding of the spacial organization of the building, its functions, and uses. The internal street, evoking with its lively ambiance the famous Parisian covered passages.

At the ends of the street, forming a cross in plan view, full-height glazing admits a maximum amount of natural light, whilst bringing views of the natural landscape into the building.

The building sits upon a smooth, dark, solid concrete base, which anchors it firmly to the site, and expresses the notions of permanence and stability. Symbolically, it represents the theoretical foundations of learning, whilst the upper, most important part, symbolizes practice and experience. This upper section clad in a sculpted metal skin is lighter in appearance, and more subtly articulated, the shiny metal echoing the stainless steel furnished kitchens found within. It is this contrast between form and material which gives the campus all its force and character.

These overhanging elevations, being more exposed to the processes of weathering, are given a sculpted metal form as if eroded by the natural forces of rain and wind, creating a wholly unique appearance and contemporary feel. From the outside, the architecture is characterized by the curving rhythms of brushed metal punctuated by sweeping glass facades.

The main façade is dominated by a large restaurant, forming the prow of the building, showcasing the expertise of Chef Alain Ducasse, and open to the public. The 215 m² restaurants with a seating capacity of 60, laid out and decorated by design agency Jouin Manku, has been imagined as a double-height, linear space, orientated towards the terrace.

The different training and activity areas are organized on the ground and first floors, comprising 9 laboratories for the culinary arts, a patisserie, a bakery, chocolate, and ice cream-making areas, an area for sensory analysis for the matching of food and wine and for the discovery of new flavors, 7 classrooms for instruction in subjects such as finance, marketing, and human resources, 1 knowledge center and co-working areas, 1 back office and administrative offices. In addition, there are areas open to the public such as a culinary boutique with a takeaway service, and a restaurant offering two different styles of dining: ‘gastronomic’ and ‘bistro’.

Architect: Arte Charpentier Architectes
Photography: Boegly Grazia