The historic hospital complex of Saint Vincent de Paul is emblematic of the potential of adaptive reuse. The site has recently been witness to continued hospital activity, then by the temporary occupation of broad cultural facilities orchestrated by the Great Neighbours, and is now undergoing a unique metamorphosis in Paris in terms of its development strategy and environmental innovation.

The transformation of the old maternity ward into a “super facility” for the neighborhood is an opportunity to rethink this place so that it bears witness to its history, to develop a new project that allows for a diversity of user and links to the memories of the site where Parisians were born and cared for.

By bringing together a school, a pre-school, a gymnasium, community spaces and activities, this multi-programming provides a new model of public facility that encourages plurality.

We seek to encourage the collective by the versatility of the spaces and their flexibility of use on all time scales. Outside of school hours, the school library is made available to the community, the playground, the courtyard and the refectory are open to the public and almost the entire ground floor can be used to accommodate an open-air cinema or a book fair.

The narrow morphology of the existing buildings is also an opportunity to rethink the teaching spaces. All of the classrooms traverse the width of the building without corridors and have an “extra room” available to encourage new educational projects. To promote interclass learning, stimulate artistic and creative activities, encourage children’s autonomy and the care of the older children by the younger ones, are all ambitions that are not usually found in the standard spaces of the school. Moreover, the multiplication of vertical circulations (3 for 5 classes) makes it possible to calm down the busy internal movements into smaller groups.

The expanded functions of this facility also requires its physical opening. The removal of the north wing (a recent building from the 70s) opens the site onto the historic doctors’ house and offers views that go beyond the old hospital complex. On the foundations of the building, a hanging garden located on the ground floor spreads out and enlarges the surface of the courtyard to 1500m2. This garden is a place for observation and experimentation for the children of the school as well as for local residents and community associations. The two roofs of the east and west buildings are accessible and the whole facility performs as a significant educational tool that shows the link we think is fundamental between man, nature and culture.