

odile decq to create school of architecture at lyon confluence

all images © studio odile decq

based on the concepts of cooperation and synergy, french architect odile decq has created a new institute for architecture in france. part of the lyon confluence development, the school opens to students in autumn 2014. located between the rhone and saone rivers and surrounded by various cultural amenities, the ‘confluence’ exists at the heart of a dynamic network.

the scheme offers an open and alternative learning environment that encourages a collaborative atmosphere between students and staff. a site of hybridization, the school presents a diversity of cultures, knowledge and practices, making possible the development of ideas and projects. internally, the building is a place for training, creation and research, organized as a series of open and flexible volumes facilitating virtual and material experimentation. the five thematic fields developed at confluence are: neuroscience – new technologies – social action – visual culture – physics.

‘after my time as director of the ‘ecole speciale d’architecture’ in paris, I have advanced ideas about architectural pedagogy that were blocked by a strict institutional system of education ill-adapted to change. that is why, I have created ‘confluence’. I believe it is necessary to change not only the philosophy but also the methodology of teaching and research. ‘confluence’ integrates new visions of and about society and also new methods and tools linked to creation, production and communication allowing students to be adapted to the world of tomorrow in which they will act. more than the site of the confluence in the center of lyon where it is located, confluence is the founding idea. architecture must not be reduced to a professional or specialized instruction: it is a discipline that opens to the world. it is a vision and a capacity to act. today it needs to return to its more humanist ambitions,’ explained odile decq.

more information regarding the school can be seen here.

see designboom’s ongoing coverage of the lyon confluence development here.



site plan



diagram indicating the school’s programs