Five years ago to the day, the people of Haut-Cagnois learned that their school would be saved thanks to the merger project between the Vieux-Bourg school and the Blacas house. On Saturday, June 22, many people came out for the inauguration of the new establishment, which cost 4 million euros (compared to 1.5 initially).
In the meantime, titanic work has been carried out to make something new out of something old. “In the school, there are 21st century technologies with 19th century floor tiles”, summarized the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, Louis Nègre. No one had to be asked to come around to the owner.
Neither future students nor alumni. The mines seemed delighted, conquered. It must be said that the merger between the two buildings is successful. The character of the place has been preserved and even enhanced. Slate stair treads were transformed into window sills, terracotta bricks reused in facing walls.
“We created a lot of outdoor space to unify everything”, explained the architect, Frédéric Ilardi. A first glimpse before the start of the school year which won over young and old alike. “It’s nice”smiles Marine, mother of two girls. “It’s better than before”, confides her oldest, who will enter CM2 in September. A former student, now retired, blurts out, while walking in the courtyard, hand crossed behind his back: “The kids these days are lucky.”
The Blacas bourgeois house has lost none of its splendor. On the contrary, its exterior and interior have been pampered during these years of work. For example, the facade was worked with traditional lime plaster. It houses, with the school, the classrooms of elementary students. The nursery schools are in the existing premises in the courtyard. Which have also been redone from floor to ceiling.
The library is one of the centerpieces of the establishment. This is the old vaulted cellar of the Blacas house which has been converted into a small cocoon ideal for quiet reading times. The specificity? Children can go barefoot or in socks! Carpet required.
Old stones on the floor, old tiles above the sink, beech wood ceiling with hanging lights: this is the new decor of the toilets at the Haut-de-Cagnes school establishment.
This is the little extra thing about this school: a room dedicated to cultural mediation. Which will not be exclusively reserved for the lucky little ones of Haut-de-Cagnes. Since all students who go to Château Grimaldi for a visit will be able to continue their work with workshops in this space.
With the merger between the two buildings, the establishment benefits from two large courtyards. One at the back, very mineral, and this one, planted. Note that the tables seem to be the old millstones of the oil mill. The room where it was has been transformed into a refectory.
