Architecture students in Réunion will have access to new state-of-the-art facilities within the next two years, as the groundbreaking ceremony for a new architecture school building took place at Le Port. The symbolic first stone, actually a piece of timber framework, was laid for the new campus located across from the École Supérieure d'Art de la Réunion. The €13.35 million project, funded jointly by the European Union, the city of Le Port, the Western Territory, and the French state, represents a major investment in educational infrastructure for the French overseas territory.
The new facility comes at a crucial time for the institution, as student enrollment has increased tenfold since the school's founding. The school is expected to reach 200 students in the near future, marking significant growth from its humble beginnings in small buildings in Saint-Denis as a satellite campus of the Montpellier school. In March 2025, a decree officially established it as France's 21st National School of Architecture and the only one in the French overseas territories.
According to architect Olivier Brabant, who designed the future facility, the new building will function as a "climate machine." The structure will be passive and bio-climatic, incorporating natural ventilation systems to create an environmentally sustainable learning environment. This design approach reflects the school's commitment to teaching sustainable architecture practices through the building itself.
Pierre Rosier, director of the National School of Architecture (ENSA), explained that the building will serve as a teaching tool for bio-climatic architecture. "We're going to teach differently, for example on walkways, in very airy spaces, and no longer in classrooms. Rooms can be transformed sometimes into workshops, sometimes into classrooms, which allowed us to save space and not multiply square meters," Rosier said. He emphasized that the project addresses important questions for modern architects about construction necessity and reducing the carbon footprint of buildings.
Students actively participated in the planning process for the new school. Recent graduate Sacha Orfila, who won't benefit from the new buildings, described it as "really a manifesto school, to understand the different bio-climatic mechanisms and natural ventilation. It will allow learning just by itself." Eglantine Trabichet, who will graduate in September, echoed this sentiment: "It's going to be a school that will teach environmental issues just with its walls. I'd like to go back when it's finished." Trabichet participated in the real estate commission that proposed ideas for the project.
Le Port Mayor Olivier Hoarau sees the new school as a way to strengthen the city's attractiveness, as it already hosts the École Supérieure d'Art and ILOI on its territory. Regional President Huguette Bello, who spoke at the ceremony, noted that the school receives €130,000 annually in subsidies and highlighted the remarkable evolution of architecture education in Réunion over the past thirty years.
The transformation has been dramatic since the school's early days. Mariam Locate, who was part of the first class of just twenty students in Saint-Denis buildings, recalled the challenges: "It was a bit complicated for a young girl to leave Réunion to go study, especially architecture studies at the time. So fortunately I was able to train locally, which allowed me to practice the profession I dreamed of doing." Today, nearly 200 students receive complete architectural training in Réunion, supported by 45 teachers and 11 administrative staff members. The new facility will provide these students with cutting-edge infrastructure that embodies the sustainable design principles they are learning.
