The construction of the middle school of Ouangani is part of a large construction program by the Vice-Rectorship of Mayotte. Every year, the government of Mayotte faces the challenge of providing education to thousands of additional students.
The Ouangani middle school's integration into its surrounding landscape is what forms its identity. The ground plain is distributed along an open regulating line: in its geometry, by incorporating view corridors at its extremities, but also in its evolution, to welcome several phases of expansions that will integrate consistently with the first buildings.
The buildings in an L- or U-shape will surround exterior spaces that are sized according to the mood that is sought for them: the school's esplanade, lower than the entrance hall, itself at double height, playgrounds that are generously landscaped that extend toward the sports areas, "private" patios for the documentation center (CDI, Centre de Documentationet d'Information) and the SEGPA (Section d’Enseignement Général et Professionnel Adapté, general and vocational adapted learning section) workshops, etc.
The different heights for the educational buildings - ground floor for the CDI and the SEGPA workshops, GF+1 and GF+2 for the other buildings - makes it possible to have the compactness requested for the project, without "overwhelming" the recreation and landscaped areas with high walls.
The balanced use of cuts and fills on the property comes from the wedging of the ground plane according to topography. The diagonal axes of the courtyards correspond to the steepest slope line, while the plateaus of the earthworks follow the leveling curves.